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HISTORY 


JEFFERSON  COLLEGE: 


INCLUDING    AN    ACCOUNT   OF    THE 


EARLY  "LOG-CABIN"  SCHOOLS, 


AND      THE 


CANONSBUliG    ACADEMY: 

WITH  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES   OF 

iEV.  MATTHEW  BROWN,  D.  D.,  Rev.  SAMUEL  RALSTON,  D.D., 
Rev.  MATTHEW  HENDERSON,  Rev.  JAMES  RAM- 
SEY, D.  D.,    Rev.  JOHN  H.  KENNEDY,  and 
Rev.  ABR'M.  ANDERSON,  D.  D. 

y 

BY   JOSEPH    SMITH,    D.  D. 

Autliur  of  "  Old  Redstone." 


PITTSBURGH: 
PUBLISHED  AND   PRINTED  BY  J.  T.  SHRYOCK, 

GAZETTE    BUILDING,    FIFTH    STREET. 

1857. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S57,  bj 

J.    T.    SHRYOCK,    ' 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Western  District  of  Pennsylvania. 

STEREOTYPED  BY  W.  S.  HA  YEN,   PITTSBURGH,  PA. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODtJOTIO  N — L  OG-CABIN    SCHOOLS. 

Page. 
Character  of  First  Western  Ministers — When  and  by  whom  "  Log-Cabin"  Schools 
begun — Mr.  Dodd's  School  on  Ten  Mile  and  in  Washington — Mr.  Smith's  School 
at  Buffalo—  Dr.  M'Millau's  School  at  Chartiers 5 

CHAPTER   II. 

THE    CANONSBTJRG    ACADEMY. 

By  whom  the  Academy  founded — David  Johnston,  first  teacher — Dr.  M'Millan's 
position  at  first — His  "  Log-Cabin"  School  merged  into  Academy — Movement  of 
Synod  of  Virginia — Redstone  Presbytery  selected  Canonsburg — Interesting 
ceremony  of  opening  Academy — Persons  engaged  in  it — First  student,  Robert 
Patterson  ;  sketch  of  his  life  and  character — Notice  in  Pittsburgh  Gazette — Con- 
tributions for  Academy — Specimen  of  then-  character — Charter  in  1794 — First 
Trustees — Petition  to  Legislature  in  1796 — Teachers,  Mr.  Johnston,  Mr.  Samuel 
Miller,  Mr.  Mountain  and  Mr.  Stockton — Action  of  Presbyteries — Literary  Soci- 
eties— Contests — Secret  affiliated  Societies 17 

CHAPTER   III. 

THE     ACADEMY     BECOMING     A     COLLEGE. 

Trustees  and  Officers — Another  Petition  to  Legislature — Judge  Edgar — Presbytery 
of  Redstone — Old  Mr.  Patterson's  account  of  Academy  in  17'.)8 — Rules  and  Reg- 
ulations— Colonel  Canon's  death  and  character — Legislative  aid — New  Move- 
ment to  get  College  Charter — Act  of  Trustees,  about  conditions  of  preaching  in 
Academy — Members  added  to  the  Societies — Change  of  Constitution  in  1798 — 
Names  of  Trustees — Charter  of  Jefferson  College,  in  1802 — Why  called  after  Mr. 
Jefferson — Good  reasons  for  the  name — New  Trustees — New  rules — Mr.  Watson, 
first  President;  his  death  and  character — Mr.  Dunlap  elected  President ;  his 
character 45 

CHAPTER   IV. 

'HISTORY    OF    JEFFERSON     COLLEGE    FROM     1804. 

Graduates  of  1804 — Robs'  Latin  Grammar — Account  of  Ross — BooJc-case  for  the 
Societies;  reminiscences  about  it— Graduates  of  1805  and  1S0G — Presbyterian 
and  Associate  Presbyteries  successfully  appealed  to  for  aid — Gen.  Hamilton's 
success  at  Congress — Injunction  of  the  Board  upon  Drs.  M'Millan  and  Dunlap— 
Graduates  of  1S08 — First  communication  from  Board  of  Washington  College; 
result — Dr.  Ralston  chosen  President  of  Board — Dr.  Murdock's  rpport  about 
conference  with  Washington  Committee — Graduates  of  1809 — State  of  Finances 
—Death  and  character  of  Judge  M'Dowell — Trustees'  rule  for  order  of  procession 
at  commencement — Description  of  an  "  Exhibition,"  or  College  Commencement, 
in  "  old  tiuiis." 69 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    V. 

NEW    PRESIDENTS    AND    "COLLEGE    WAR."  Page. 

Dr.  Dunlap  and  the  Board — Graduates  of  1810 — Dr.  Dunlap  resigns — Graduates 
of  1811  and  1812 — Dr.  Wylie  elected  Principal — About  Ezekiel  Hannah's  will — 
Graduates  of  1813,  1814  and  1815 — New  negotiations  with  the  Board  of  Wash- 
ington College — Various  conferences — Final  failure  in  attempt  to  unite  the  col- 
leges— Much  sharp  shooting,  on  both  sides,  but  none  killed,  and  few  wounded — 
Reflections  on  the  whole  case — liev.  R.  Johnston,  a  trustee  for  seventeen  years — 
Sketch  of  his  life — Dr.  Wylie  resigns — Dr.  Wm.M'Millan  succeeds  him — Dr. 
Matthew  Brown — Remarkable  circumstances  connected  with  his  election 85 

CHAPTER    VI. 

DR.  M.  brown's  presidency. 
A  new  era  in  the  state  and  prospects  of  Jefferson  College — Dr.  Brown's  extraordi- 
nary character  and  qualifications — Connection  of  Jefferson  College  with  Jeffer- 
son Medical  College  in  Philadelphia — Jacob  Green,  Esq. — Literary  Societies  in 
difficulties — Theological  Seminary  of  the  Associate  Presbyterian  Church  estab- 
lished at  Canonsburg — New  College  buildirg  in  1829-32 — Crisis  in  the  life  of 
Dr.  M'Millan;  Death  of  his  old  friends,  Prof.  Miller  and  C  Ritchie,  Esq.;  their 
lives  and  character — Agricultural  labor  provided  for  students  by  a  College  farm ; 
its  ultimate  failure;  reflections  about  it — Recent  movement  by  Synod  of  Pitts- 
burgh for  Ecclesiastical  supervision — Its  failure;  reasons — Aids  to  be  sought  ill 
investigating  that  whole  subject — General  conclusion  of  the  whole  history, Ill 

CHAPTER   VII. 

SOME   ACCOUNT    OF    THE    LITERARY   SOCIETIES   OF    JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

History  of  Philo  Literary  Society 139 

History  of  Frauklin  Literary  Society 154 

BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 

Biographical  sketch  of  the  late  Rev.  Matthew  Brown,  D.  D 180 

Biographical  sketch  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Ralston,  D.  D 192 

Biographical  sketch  of  the  Rev.  Matthew  Henderson 234 

Biographical  sketch  of  the  Rev.  James  Ramsey,  D.  D 252 

Biographical  sketch  of  the  Kev.  Abraham  Anderson,D.  D 283 

Memoir  of  the  late  Rev.  John  H.  Kennedy,  A.  M 353 

APPENDIX. 

The  origin  of  Jefferson  College 373 

Dr.  M'Millan's  Manuscript 413 

Importance  of  Colleges  and  of  Classical  Education — Early  history  of  Collegiate 
j    Institutions 418 


HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION — LOG-CABIN    SCHOOLS. 

Character  of  First  Western  Ministers — When  and  by  whom  "Log  Cabin " 
Schools  begun — Mr.  Dod's  School  on  Ten-mile  and  in  Washington — Mr. 
Smith's  School  at  Bufialo — Dr.  M'Millan's  School  at  Chartiers. 

The  early  history  of  most  nations,  ancient  or  modern,  is 
obscured  and  deformed  by  incredible  traditions  and  monstrous 
legends.  The  laborious  researches  of  Niebuhr,  Arnold,  and 
others,  have  contributed  much  to  separate  the  precious  from 
the  vile,  and  to  ascertain,  with  some  precision,  where  true 
history  begins.  The  American  people  have  this  great  advan- 
tage, in  regard  to  the  story  of  their  rise  and  progress,  that  no 
fabulous  period  belongs  to  the  outset  of  their  history.  This 
is  especially  true  in  respect  to  that  portion  of  them  who  first 
sought  homes  and  formed  settlements  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Though  much  obscurity  rests 
upon  the  unimportant  details  of  the  first  years  of  trial  and 
sorrow,  through  which  those  who  succeeded  the  hunters,  trap- 
pers and  Indians  traders  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  were  com- 
pelled to  pass,  the  prominent  features  of  the  men  of  those 
times,  and  of  the  measures  they  pursued  for  elevating  their 
physical,  intellectual  and  moral  condition,  are  now  well 
ascertained,  and  rest  on  no  uncertain  tradition.  The  Scotch- 
Irish  emigrants,  who  began  to  pour  out  on  the  Western 
frontier,  a  little  before  the  last  quarter  of  the  18th  century, 
1*  (5) 


6  HISTORY  OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

and  to  form  settlements  through  Western  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia,  were  a  remarkable  race.  They  brought  with  them 
a  deeply  cherished  love  for  the  House  of  God  and  the  School 
House.  The  ministers  of  the  gospel  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  of  the  Associate,  or  Secession  body,  were  well 
educated  men,  most  of  them  graduates  of  the  college  of  New 
Jersey ;  and  devoted  their  untiring  efforts  to  organize  and 
build  up  churches  in  the  new  settlements.  They  also  co-op- 
erated with  their  people  in  organizing  schools ;  and  in  most 
cases  took  them  under  their  own  care,  becoming  teachers 
themselves,  or  providing  adequate  instructors.  This  may 
have  been,  possibly,  in  some  instances,  with  a  view,  in  part, 
to  eke  out  a  scanty  support.  But  we  have  no  doubt  that 
this  part  of  their  labors,  was  in  a  measure  forced  upon  them. 
Their  poor  people,  living  in  log-cabins,  and  surrounded  by 
constant  harassings  and  perils  from  their  savage  foes,  and 
doomed  to  very  exhausting  toils,  in  order  to  support  their 
growing  families,  threw  this  responsible  work  on  the  hands 
of  their  ministers.  Yet  they,  without  exception,  were  com- 
pelled to  work  too,  and  to  work  hard,  on  their  little  patches 
of  cleared  land.  There  was  not  one  of  them,  who  did  not 
become  familiar  with  the  axe  and  the  maul,  the  plow  and 
the  hoe.  Almost  coeval  with  the  period  of  their  settlement 
west  of  the  mountains,  these  ministers  got  up  schools  near 
their  dwellings.  As  such  dwellings  would  be  generally  as 
near  the  centre  of  their  congregations  as  practicable,  this 
location  of  the  school  houses  would  be  most  convenient  to 
their  people.  Such  a  school  was  probably  first  established 
by  Dr.  M'Millan,  near  his  own  house,  about  two  miles  east 
of  the  present  location  of  Canonsburg.  Another  was 
formed  by  the  Rev.  Thaddeus  Pod,  who  settled  on  Ten-mile, 
in  the  southern  part  of  Washington  county,  in  the  fall  of 
1779.  Mr.  Pod's  school  was  begun  as  early  as  1782  or 
1783, — as  we  shall  presently  see.  That  Dr.  M'Millan's 
school,  in  its  earliest  form,  preceded  Mr,  Pod's,  seems  highly 


INTRODUCTION — LOG  CABIN  SCHOOLS.         7 

probable,  botb  from  general  tradition,*  and  from  bis  language 
in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Carnaban,  dated  Mareb  2'3tb,  1>vj2,  wbicb 
we  sball  presently  quote.  Tbis  remarkable  man,  whose  whole 
subsequent  life  was  intimately  associated  with  tbe  cause  of 
education,  and  with  the  history  of  Jefferson  College,  came 
out  and  settled  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  in  November,  1778, 
though  his  first  visit  and  labors  as  a  minister  of  tbe  gospel 
in  the  West,  date  back  to  1775.  Tbis  school,  under  the  imme- 
diate care  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  seems  to  have  been  for  the  first  few 
years,  simply  the  English  school  of  the  neighborhood,  with 
occasionally  some  Latin  scholars.  About  tbe  time  of  its 
organization,  or  soon  after,  the  services  of  James  Ross,  Esq., 
were  secured,  who  taught  the  general  branches  of  English 
education,  boarded  with  Dr.  M'Millan,  and  pursued  or  com- 
pleted his  own  classical  studies,  under  the  tuition  of  the 
Doctor,  in  compensation  for  bis  services  in  the  school.  This 
statement,  we  are  aware,  disturbs  a  current  tradition,  but  is 
supported  by  the  testimony  of  a  letter  of  Dr.  Carnaban, 
Ex-President  of  Princeton  College,  now  before  us.f 

That  Dr.  M'Millan  had  in  view  the  ultimate  development 
of  this  school  into  the  more  distinctive  form  of  a  Latin  school 
for  young  men  having  the  gospel  ministry  in  view,  there  is 
no  reason  to  doubt.     But  that  it  possessed  this  form  from 

*  "  That  Dr.  M'Millan  had  a  school  at  his  own  house,  soon  after  ho  went 
to  Western  Pennsylvania  is  undoubtedly  true.  This  corresponds  with  the 
tradition    I  heard." — Letter  from  Dr.  Camahan. 

f  Wo  give  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  James 
Carnahan,  to  tho  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Hodge — dated,  *'  Princeton,  N.  J., 
May  13th,  1851. "  "  The  tradition  I  heard  was,  that  Ross  taught  tho 
English  school;  and  that  Dr.  M'Millan  taught  him  Latin,  Greek,  and 
Mathematics.  Mr.  Ross  was  undoubtedly  a  man  of  uncommon  talent?, 
an  able  lawyer,  and  of  high  standing  as  a  Senator  of  the  United  States. 
But  I  never  heard  him  spoken  of  as  a  distinguished  Latin  and  Greek 
scholar.  Judge  Addison  and  Judge  Brackenridge,  of  Pittsburgh,  were  always 
spoken  of  as  first  rate  classical  scholars.  But  this  was  not  the  reputation  of 
Mr.  Ross." 


O  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

the  beginning,  seems  highly  improbable.  The  harassed  and 
troubled  state  of  the  country,  for  the  first  four  or  five  years 
after  the  Doctor's  settlement  at  Chartiers,  renders  it  very 
unlikely  that  materials  could  be  found  for  getting  up  this 
department  at  his  school.  But  we  have  stated  at  large,  in 
"  Old  Redstone,"  our  reasons  for  questioning  the  accuracy 
of  the  tradition  which  has  assigned  to  him  the  honor  of  open- 
ing the  first  Latin  school  in  the  West,  the  substance  of 
which  may  be  seen  in  the  note  below.  * 

But  though  we  question  the  early  date  ©f  Dr.  M'Millan' s 
school  as  a  Latin  school,  it  seems  almost  certain  to  us  that 
he  made  the  first  movement  in  the  cause  of  education.  And 
again,  his  school  became  what  the  Doctor  had,  perhaps, 
always  contemplated  from  the  beginning — a  classical  school ; 
and  it  was  the  sole  classical  school,  west  of  the  Monongahela 
river,  for  young  men  preparing  for  the  gospel  ministry,  after 
others  of  a  similar  character  were  discontinued.  This  school 
was  the  immediate  predecessor  of  the  Academy  at  Canons- 
burg,  which  was  founded  in  1791.  But  the  manner  in 
which  the  one  preceded  the  other,  and  was  merged  into  it, 
we  shall  see  hereafter.  In  the  meantime,  soon  after  Dr. 
M'Millan's  school  commenced,  in  its  primal  form,  Mr.  Dod 
opened  his  school  at  Ten-mile.     His  son  has  recently  given, 

*  The  records  of  the  Presbytery  of  Redstone  show  that  there  were  no 
licentiates  under  their  care,  who  had  received  their  provious  scholastic  or 
theological  training  from  Dr.  M'Millan,  till  after  1785.  Their  first  candi- 
dates, Messrs.  Hughes,  Bricc,  Patterson  and  Porter,  wero  first  under  the 
instruction  of  Messrs.  Dod  and  Smith,  from  17S3  to  17S6.  Dr.  M'Millan 
enumerates  them  among  the  first  who  were  trained  and  brought  into  tho 
ministry  in  the  West.  He  mentions  none  before  them.  The  Rev.  Joseph 
Patterson,  who  studied,  with  a  few  others,  under  tho  direction  of  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Smith,  at  Buffalo,  in  1785,  was  afterwards,  along  with  some  of  thene, 
at  Dr.  M'Millan's  school ;  and  the  Doctor,  in  his  letter  so  Dr.  Carnahan, 
writing  of  his  first  movement  to' prepare  young  mon  for  the  ministry,  men- 
tions these  persons  as  forming  the  materials  of  his  first  Latin  school.  There 
are  somo  other  facts  stated  in  "  Old  Rodstono,"  pages  77  and  7S,  sorving  to 
confirm  the  view  then  takon. 


INTRODUCTION — LOG  CABIN  SCHOOLS.         9 

in  the  Presbyterian  Magazine  (for  September,  1854),  an  inter- 
esting statement,  which,  though  somewhat  extended,  will  be 
read  with  interest.  The  following  is  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cephas 
Dodd's  account  of  his  father's  efforts  in  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion : — "He  (the  Rev.  Thaddeus  Dod*)  felt  the  importance  of 
a  better  common  school  education,  and,  in  order  to  promote 
it,  visited  the  schools,  and  counseled  the  teachers  as  to  the 
best  manner  of  performing  their  duties.  For  the  special  pur- 
pose of  educating  young  men  for  the  gospel  ministry,  he  had 
a  building  erected  within  a  few  steps  of  his  own  dwelling,  in 
which  he  opened  a  classical  and  mathematical  school,  in  the 
spring  of  1782.  The  students  present  at  that  time  were 
Messrs.  James  Hughes,  John  Brice,  Daniel  Lindley,  Robert 
Marshall  and  Francis  Dunlavy.  These  were  all  young  men, 
and  avowedly  pursuing  a  course  of  education,  preparatory  to 
the  ministry,  excepting  Mr.  Dunlavy,  whose  intention  is  not 
certainly  known.  He  was  a  young  man  of  superior  talent,  of 
amiable  disposition,  took  an  active  part  in  social  worship,  and, 
it  is  thought,  Mr.  Dod  and  others  felt  some  disappointment 
when  he  took  a  different  course.  He  was  afterwards  a  Judge 
in  the  State  of  Ohio.  Daniel  Lindley,  in  consequence  of  the 
failure  of  his  health,  was  compelled  to  relinquish  his  under- 
taking. John  Hanna,  also  having  the  ministry  m  view,  came 
probably  in  1783.  The  Rev.  David  Smith,  young  at  that 
time,  was  also  one  of  the  students.  "Whether  he  came  with 
the  first,  or  at  a  later  date,  is  not  recollected.  With  what 
view  his  father  sent  him,  we  may  easily  imagine;  and  his 
hope  was  not  disappointed.  Another  young  lad,  son  of  Col. 
James  Marshal,  entered  the  school  about  1783.  The  Rev. 
Jacob  Lindley,  D.  D.,  the  early  friend  and  companion  of  the 
writer,  (and  to  whom  he  is  indebted  for  much  aid  in  calling 
to  recollection  and  establishing  these  particulars),  was  also 
an  inmate  of  the  family,  and  though  but  from  eight  to  ten 

•  The  Rev.  T.  Dod  and  Rev.  C.  Dodd.     The  son  added  a  d  to  his  name. 


10  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

or  eleven  years  of  age,  was  reading  Latin,  and  we  are  assured 
that  his  father  placed  him  there  with  the  hope  that  he  might, 
in  due  time,  be  prepared  by  divine  grace  to  take  part  in  tho 
work  of  the  ministry.  It  may  also  be  noted  that  some 
three  or  four  men  were  taught  surveying.  There  is  no 
reason  to  think  that  for  any  other  purpose  than  that  of  edu- 
cating men  for  the  ministry,  the  building  would  ever  have 
been  erected,  or  the  school  opened.  After  having  been  in 
operation  three  years  and  a  half,  it  was  closed  in  the  fall  of 
1785,  either  because  Mr.  D.  had  sold  the  farm  on  which  he 
lived,  and  was  about  removing  from  it,  or  for  other  reasons. 
Doubtless  after  boarding  such  a  number  in  the  family,  with 
the  few  conveniences  of  house-room,  &c,  they  enjoyed,  both 
he  and  Mrs.  Dod  needed  a  little  rest.  Here,  then,  on  an 
exposed  frontier,  we  find  the  first  classical  school  in  the 
West,  and  might  claim  for  Mr.  Dod  the  precedence  in  efforts 
to  promote  the  cause  of  education  for  the  ministry.  Such 
claim,  however,  we  do  not  make,  though  the  above  facts 
show  that  it  cannot  belong  to  any  other.  It  is  true  that 
Mr.  D.  took  upon  him  the  labor  of  teaching,  years  before  it 
was  entered  upon  by  any  of  his  brethren ;  but  it  was  not  his 
own  private  enterprise.  He,  with  Messrs.  Smith  and 
M'Millan,  felt  deeply  the  need,  both  present  and  prospective, 
of  a  faithful  and  able  .ministry  to  supply  the  wants  of  our 
Western  Zion.  The  harvest  was  great,  and  the  laborers  were 
few.  When  they  met,  it  was  often  the  subject  of  their  con- 
versation, and  instead  of  waiting  for  ministers  to  come  from 
abroad,  they  wisely  resolved  to  endeavor  to  raise  them  up  in 
their  midst.  Who  can  say  which  of  them  first  proposed  or 
acted  on  this  plan  ?  They  sought  for  young  men  of  piety 
and  talents  who  would  be  willing  to  devote  themselves  to  the 
work,  and  undertook  to  prepare  them  by  a  thorough  educa- 
tion. One  was  found  at  Ten-mile,  two  at  Buffalo,  and  some 
in  other  places ;  and  Mr.  Dod  was  first  employed  in  teaching 
for  reasons  which  it  is  not  for  us  to  assign.     Each  of  the 


INTRODUCTION — LOG  CABIN   SCHOOLS.  11 

above  named  ministers  were  employed  more  or  less  in  teach- 
ing at  his  own  house,  but  finding  it  inconvenient  and  inter- 
fering too  much  with  their  pastoral  duties,  their  next  move- 
ment was  the  getting  up  an  Academy  at  Washington,  for 
which  a  charter  was  granted  September  24th,  1787,  with  a 
donation  of  five  thousand  acres  of  land.  Without  entering  into 
any  detail  of  argument  to  show  that  the  aforesaid  ministers 
were  first  to  move  in  this  matter,  it  may  be  sufficient  to 
call  attentiqn  to  the  names  of  the  Trustees.  They  were  the 
Rev.  Messrs.  John  M'Millan,  Joseph  Smith,  Thaddeus  Dod, 
John  Clark,  Matthew  Henderson,  (of  the  Associate  Presby- 
tery,) and  John  Corbly,  (Baptist.)  Here  were  five  Presby- 
terian ministers,  being  all  who  were  west  of  the  Monongahela 
river,  and  with  them,  seven  or  eight  elders  of  Cross  Creek 
Buffalo,  Chartiers,  &c. ;  and  one  of  them  in  an  extreme  part 
of  what  was  then  Washington,  but  now  Green  county.  The 
other  trustees  were,  with  a  few  exceptions,  in  connection  with 
the  Presbyterian  church.  Two  of  them,  (Judges  Allison  and 
M'Dowell,)  who  were  elders  of  Chartiers,  were  at  that  time 
in  the  Legislature,  and  aided  in  obtaining  the  charter.  The 
land  appropriated  by  the  State,  lying  north  of  the  Ohio, 
would,  of  course,  be  unproductive  for  a  long  time.  Neverthe- 
less, the  trustees  resolved  to  go  forward.  After  some  unsuc- 
cessful attempts  to  obtain  a  Principal,  Mr.  Dod  was  urgently 
solicited  to  take  the  place.  He  was  unwilling  to  leave  his 
people,  but,  after  some  conference  on  the  subject,  informed 
them,  that,  provided  the  appointment  were  made  but  for  one 
year,  he  might,  for  the  sake  of  getting  the  institution  into 
operation,  think  it  his  duty  to  accept;  but,  if  for  a  longer 
term,  he  should  reject  it  at  once.  The  appointment  was 
made  accordingly,  and  after  consulting  his  people,  he  signified 
his  acceptance,  and  at  the  same  time  resigned  the  office  of 
trustee.  There  being  no  available  funds  wherewith  to  erect 
a  building,  the  upper  rooms  of  the  Court  House  were  hired  for 
the  purpose,  and  the  Institution  went  into  operation,  1st  of 


12  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

April,  1789.  There  were  about  twenty  or  thirty  students, 
of  whom  five  afterwards  entered  the  ministry.  While  in 
Washington,  Mr.  Dod  preached  there  one-third  of  his  time 
and  divided  the  remainder  between  the  two  places  at  Ten-mile. 
At  the  expiration  of  the  time  for  which  he  had  engaged,  he 
was  prevailed  on  to  continue  three  months  longer.  Mr. 
Johnston,  who  had  been  teaching  in  the  English  department, 
was  appointed  his  successor.  Some  time  in  the  next  winter 
the  Court  House  was  burned;  and  there  was  no  suitable 
building  to  be  had  in  town.  The  Rev.  Messrs.  M'Millan 
and  Henderson  went  together  to  Washington,  and  requested 
J.  Hoge,  Esq.,  who  was  the  proprietor,  and  also  trustee,  to 
make  a  donation  of  a  lot  on  which  to  erect  a  building.  Dis- 
couraged by  his  refusal,  they  went  and  asked  the  same  of 
Col.  Canon,  of  Canonsburg,  who  not  only  gave  the  ground, 
but  otherwise  contributed  liberally  to  the  cause.  An  Acad- 
emy was  erected  at  Canonsburg.  Mr.  Johnston  was  made 
its  principal;  and  Washington  Academy  suspended  operations 
for  a  number  of  years.  Dr.  M'Millan  was  one  of  the  principal 
agents  in  getting  up  the  Academy  at  Washington,  was  one  of 
a  committee  to  solicit  subscriptions  for  its  support,  and  con- 
tinued his  patronage  till,  by  the  circumstance  above  related, 
he  was  induced  to  abandon  it;  after  which  he  became  the 
most  efficient  supporter  of  the  institution  at  Canonsburg. 
He  does  not  seem,  however,  to  have  considered  the  latter  as 
growing  out  of  his  Latin  school,  for  we  find  he  wrote  to  Dr. 
Carnahan  :  "I  had  still  a  few  with  me  when  the  Academy 
was  opened  at  Canonsburg,  and  finding  that  I  could  not 
teach  and  do  justice  to  my  congregation,  I  immediately  gave 
it  up  and  sent  them  there."  Such  was  the  origin  of  the  two 
literary  Institutions  in  Western  Pennsylvania. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Smith,  of  Buffalo,  Washington  eounty, 
who  came  out  to  the  West  in  the  year  1780,  early  distin- 
guished himself  by  his  efforts  to  aid  in  preparing  young  men 
for  the  ministry.     The    following  statement,  given  to   the 


INTRODUCTION — LOG  CABIN  SCHOOLS.        13 

public,  some  years  ago,  in  "Old  Redstone,"  may  not  impro- 
perly be  again  introduced  in  this  place,  though  we  have 
cheerfully  modified  it,  with  the  desire  of  bringing  it  into 
harmony  with  the  foregoing  account  of  Mr.  Dod's  school. 
Mr.  Smith  was  anxious  from  the  first,  after  he  settled  in  the 
West,  to  look  out  for,  and  aid  in  preparing  young  men  to 
preach  the  gospel.  He  was  among  the  first  who  moved  in 
this  matter.  The  first  school  that  was  opened  exclusively 
with  a  view  to  the  training  of  young  men  for  the  sacred 
office,  is  believed  to  have  been  begun  by  Mr.  Smith,  at  Upper 
Buffalo,  as  early,  at  least,  as  1785.  The  Rev.  Joseph  Patter- 
son says,  in  a  note,  on  a  small  package  of  letters,  written 
principally  to  his  wife,  found  among  his  papers  after  his 
death  :  "In  the  fall  of  1785,  being  thirty -three  years  old,  it 
was  thought  best,  with  the  advice  of  the  Presbytery  of  Red- 
stone, that  I  should  endeavor  to  prepare  for  the  gospel 
ministry.  There  being  no  places  of  public  education  in  this 
country,  I,  with  a  few  others,  studied  with  the  Rev.  Joseph 
.Smith,  of  Buffalo  congregation,  Washington  county,  Pa., 
being  partially  absent  from  my  family,"  &c. 

The  subject  of  opening  such  a  school  had  pressed  heavily 
on  Mr.  Smith's  mind  for  some  time.  There  was  one  difficulty 
in  his  way;  he  had  no  suitable  house.  But  he  had  recently 
erected  a  house  adjoining  his  dwelling  house,  to  serve  as  a 
kitchen  and  outhouse.  If  his  wife  would  be  willing  to  sur- 
render that,  for  a  while,  and  fall  back  on  their  former 
hampered  domestic  system,  it  could  be  done.  He  stated  the 
case  to  her.  She  cordially  acquiesced  in  the  plan,  and 
warmly  seconded  his  views.  Almost  immediately  this  Latin 
school  was  begun.  Messrs.  M'Gready,  Porter  and  Patterson 
began  their  course.  Soon  after,  James  Hughes  and  John 
Brice,  who  had  already  been  with  Mr.  Dod,  joined  them. 
This  school  for  the  languages  and  sciences  was  continued 
some  time;  and  then,  by  some  mutual  arrangement,  was 
transferred  and  surrendered  to  the  care  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  near 
2 


14  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

Canonsburg.  This  we  regard  as  the  period  when  Dr, 
McMillan's  school  took  its  more  distinctive  form  as  a  Latin 
school;  or  rather,  perhaps,  was  enlarged,  so  as  to  include  a 
course  of  classical  and  scientific  studies,  as  its  more  promi- 
nent feature.  This  view  of  the  case  harmonizes  with  Dr. 
M'Millan's  statement  to  Dr,  Carnahan,  given  in  a  previous 
note,  and  with  a  passage  in  a  manuscript  in  his  own  hand- 
writing, where,  speaking  of  the  origin  of  his  ministerial 
school,  and  not  of  the  school  in  its  previous  state,  he  says  : 
"Accordingly,  I  collected  a  few  who  gave  evidence  of  piety, 
and  instructed  them  in  the  knowledge  of  Latin,  Greek,  &c, 
viz  :  James  Hughes,  John  Brice,  James  M'Gready,  Samuel 
Porter,  &c."  These  were  a  part  of  the  materials  with  which 
he  says  his  school  began,  and  he  mentions  none  that  preceded 
them.  Indeed  this  list  corresponds  with  what  he  mentions 
about  the  second  set  of  ministers  in  the  West,  and  with  the 
records  of  the  Redstone  Presbytery,  that  gave  no  account  of 
any  earlier  licentiates.  Now  as  all  the  persons  that  are  here 
mentioned  were  either  with  Mr.  Dod,  or  Mr.  Smith,  before 
they  were  under  the  instructions  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  it  is  thus 
ascertained  that  though  Dr.  M'Millan's  school  may  have  been 
first  organized,  as  we  believe  it  was,  it  did  not  assume  the 
more  distinctive  form  of  a  Latin  school  for  training  candi- 
dates for  the  ministry,  until  his  colleagues  had  been  for  some 
time  giving  instructions  with  that  view,  and  perhaps  until 
they  both  ceased  to  teach  their  schools.  The  statement  given 
to  us,  some  years  ago,  by  Mrs.  Irwin,  an  aged,  but  very 
intelligent  lady,  then  residing  in  Marysville,  Ohio,  since 
deceased,  respecting  Mr.  Smith  and  his  school,  is  too  remark- 
able to  be  omitted  here,  though  already  published  in  "Old 
Redstone,"  p.  77.  It  is  in  substance,  as  follows — (and  her 
pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith,  testified  that  it  has  been  her 
unvaried  statement  for  many  years,  and  he  has  no  doubt  of 
her  memory  being  perfectly  good  in  this  case,) — "That  she 
was  between  twelve  and  fifteen  years  of  age,  living  near  Mr. 


INTRODUCTION — LOG  CABIN  SCHOOLS.        15 

Smith's,  one  of  his  spiritual  children,  took  a  great  interest  at 
the  time  in  what  Mr.  Smith  did  in  this  matter,  and  all  her 
life  after  familiarly  remembered  the  following  facts  :  that  in 
1785,  Mr.  Smith  opened  a  small  school,  for  assisting  and 
training  young  men  for  the  gospel  ministry  ;  that  Messrs. 
M'Grready,  Brice,  Porter  and  Patterson  began  their  course 
with  him,  Mr.  James  Hughes  soon  after  joining  them;  that 
Mr.  M'Gready  came  from  Dr.  M'Millan's,  with  whom  he  had 
been  living,  not  as  a  student,  but  as  a  laborer  on  his  farm ; 
that  five  congregations,  through  the  ladies,  united  in  furnish- 
ing these  students,  (with  the  exception  of  Mr.  M'Grready,) 
with  clothing,  viz :  Buffalo,  Cross  Creek,  Chartiers,  Bethel 
and  Ten -mile;  that  they  made  up  summer  and  winter 
clothing,  for  several  of  these  young  men  (coloring  linen  for 
summer  wear,  in  a  dye,  made  of  new-moWn  hay,  and  sending 
woolen  cloth,  by  merchants,  east  of  the  mountains,  to  be 
fulled  and  dressed,  and  brought  back  with  them  on  their 
return,)  that  this  was  the  first  movement  made  for  preparing 
young  men  for  the  ministry ;  that  there  was  no  such  school, 
at  this  time,  at  Chartiers,  nor  until  after  the  one  at  Buffaio 
was  discontinued;  that  Mrs.  M'Millan  and  the  Chartiers 
ladies  took  their  share  in  this  effort  to  sustain  this  school  at 
Buffalo,  Mr.  M'Grready  coming  from  Dr.  M'Millan's  to  the 
school."  This  is  very  explicit  testimony.  If  it  conflicts 
with  the  account  given  of  Mr.  Dod's  school,  it  may  easily  be 
supposed  that  she  was  not  aware  of  what  Mr.  Dod  had  done, 
as  his  place  of  residence  lay  at  some  distance  from  Buffalo. 
It  may  be  thought,  indeed,  that  Mr.  Smith's  school  was 
rather  a  divinity  hall ;  but  the  period  at  which  the  several 
persons  Mrs.  Irwin  mentions,  were  licensed  to  preach  the 
gospel — which  was  some  years  after — much  longer  than 
students  for  the  ministry,  *in  those  days,  studied  theology — 
shows  conclusively  that  preparatory  studies  were  embraced  in 
Mr.  Smith's  school.  The  interesting  fact,  brought  to  light 
by  Mrs.  Irwin's  narrative,  of  the  efforts  of  the  ladies  in  those 
days,  to  assist  in  the  cause  of  education,  is  a  striking  feature 


16  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

of  those  early  times.  We  are  here  reminded  of  the  testimony 
borne  by  the  Rev.  Robert  Patterson,  in  his  letter  to  Dr. 
Brown,  (to  be  hereafter  referred  to,)  to  the  generous  piety  of 
the  wives  of  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Smith  and  M'Millan.  "It 
should  be  here  stated,"  says  Mr.  Patterson,  "that  for  want  of 
suitable  places  elsewhere,  the  students  generally  lodged  in 
the  minister's  family,  without  profit  and  sometimes  at  consid- 
erable expense  to  the  household.  In  this  service  and  toil, 
the  wives  of  these  two  godly  ministers  heartily  concurred.  I 
knew  them  well;  and  they  were  both  eminently  mothers  in 
Israel." 

We  cannot  learn  that  either  the  Rev.  Matthew  Henderson, 
or  the  Rev.  John  Clark,  of  Lebanon  and  Bethel  churches, 
had' any  personal  charge  of  a  school.  They  doubtless  lent 
their  special  attention  in  promoting  good  schools  in  their 
congregations.  But  no  other  schools  than  those  of  which  we 
have  now  given  some  account,  existed  at  that  early  period,  in 
Washington  county.  We  speak,  of  course,  of  those  above  the 
grade  of  common  English  schools.  Having  now  related  the 
first  efforts  made  in  the  cause  of  education  west  of  the  moun- 
tains, we  have  cleared  our  way  to  an  entrance  upon  the 
history  of  the  first  school  at  Canonsburg. 


Note. — A  very  able  and  elaborate  paper,  furnished  to  us  by  Prof.  Robert 
Patterson,  of  Oakland  College,  Miss.,  in  which  the  claims  of  Dr.  M'Millan's 
"  Log  Cabin"  school  to  priority  as  a  Latin  school  are  defended,  will  be 
found  in  the  Appendix. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   CANONSBURG   ACADEMY. 

By  whom  the  Academy  founded — David  Johnston,  first  teacher — Dr.  M'Mil- 
lan's  position  at  first — His  "  Log-cabin "  school  merged  into  Academy — 
Movement  of  Synod  of  Virginia — Redstone  Presbytery  selected  Canons- 
burg — Interesting  ceremony  of  opening  Academy — Persons  ongaged  in  it 
— First  student,  R.  Patterson ;  sketch  of  his  life  and  character — Notice  in 
Pittsburgh  Gazette — Contributions  for  Academy — Specimen  of  their  char- 
acter— Charter  in  1794 — First  Trustoes — Petition  to  Legislature  in  1796 
— Teachers,  Mr.  Johnston,  Mr.  Samuel  Millar,  Mr.  Mountain  and  Mr. 
Stockton — Action  of  Presbyteries — Literary  Societies — Contests — Secret 
affiliated  Societies. 

The  precise  date  of  the  first  movement  towards  the  forma- 
tion of  a  school  at  Canonsburg,  above  the  grade  of  a  common 
"English  school,  cannot  be  ascertained.  There  were  living  in 
*nd  near  what  afterwards  became  the  village  of  Canonsburg, 
several  respectable,  public-spirited  gentlemen,  such  as  Col. 
John  Canon,  (on  whose  land  the  town  was  laid  out  and  thence 
took  its  name,)  Judge  James  Allison,  Judge  John  M Doicell, 
Alexander  Cook,  Esq.,  Messrs.  James  Foster,  Thomas  Brecker, 
Robert  Ralston,  and  others;  who,  perhaps,  some  time  before 
1789,  held  frequent  conferences  about  getting  up  such  a 
school.  These  gentlemen  were  then  generally  living  in  log 
cabins,  and  wore  hunting  shirts.  Some  of  these  conferences 
were  very  possibly  held  at  log-rollings,  house-raisings,  or 
corn-huskings.  The  country  was  still  comparatively  a  wil- 
derness. William  Darby,  Esq.,  whose  memory  was  remark- 
ably tenacious  as  to  dates,  has  stated  in  a  letter  which  he 
wrote  in  1850,  that  "through  1789  and  1790  the  Academy 
2* 


18  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

was  in  operation."  Through  both  these  years  the  Indians 
were  still  giving  much  annoyance  to  the  western  settlements 
of  Washington  county.  And  these  troubles  reached  their 
greatest  height  during  the  following  year.  But  this  future 
home  of  science  and  literature  was  even  then  begun.  It  was, 
of  course,  in  its  most  embryo  state.  It  is  ascertained  that 
during  1791,  that  eventful  year  of  trial  and  sorrow  in  West- 
ern Pennsylvania,  the  services  of  Mr.  David  Johnston,  who 
had,  during  a  part  of  that  and  of  the  previous  year,  taught  at 
Washington,  were  secured.  At  this  time  Dr.  McMillan's 
school,  in  the  celebrated  Log-cabin,  near  his  own  house,  two 
miles  from  Canonsburg,  was  still  in  operation.  This  school 
was  continued  for  some  time  after  the  Canonsburg  school  was 
set  on  foot,  under  the  patronage  of  some,  if  not  all,  of  the 
persons  named  above.  Dr.  M'Millan  was,  up  to  this  time,  and 
for  a  year  or  two  before,  interested  in  behalf  of  the  Academy 
at  Washington,  of  which  he  was  a  trustee,  along  with  Rev. 
Messrs.  Henderson,  Joseph  Smith,  and  others;  and  was 
therefore  committed  to  its  interests.  But  he  and  others  soon 
became  discouraged  in  that  enterprise.  In  an  important  paper 
found  on  the  Records  of  the  Trustees  of  Jefferson  College, 
dated  December  29,  1817,  in  the  Doctor's  own  handwriting, 
it  is  stated  as  follows:  "In  the  year  1787,  the  Legislature  of 
this  State  granted  a  donation  of  lands,  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  and  supporting  an  Academy  in  the  town  of  Wash- 
ington. The  Rev.  Messrs.  Matthew  Henderson,  Joseph 
Smith,  John  M'Millan,  and  others,  used  their  influence  and 
best  endeavors  to  get  this  Academy  into  operation,  for  the 
purpose  of  promoting  literature  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Western  counties  in  general;  and  also,  with  the  fond  hope 
that  the  loud  calls  and  repeated  demands  for  preachers  of  tho 
of  the  gospel  might  be  supplied  from  that  institution.  But 
so  indifferent  were  the  inhabitants  of  that  town  to  (he  interests 
Of  literature  in  general,  and  to  the  demands  of  the  church  in 
particular,  that,  notwithstanding  the  State  donation,  an  Acad* 


THE  CANONSBURG  ACADEMY.  19 

einy  could  not  be  supported.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Dod,  and  after 
hiru  Mr.  David  Johnston,  made  the  attempt,  by  engaging  as 
teachers;  but  were  forced  to  give  up  the  benevolent  design, 
through  the  indifference  and  inattention  of  a  majority  of  the 
trustees.  When  the  hopes  of  Mr.  M'Millan  were  blasted  by 
the  indifference  and  inattention  of  the  trustees  of  the  Academy 
at  Washington,  he  turned  his  attention  to  Canonsburg,  as  a 
place  of  greater  hope  and  more  suited  to  his  views.  He  solic- 
ited donations  from  private  individuals  for  erecting  an  Acad- 
emy at  that  place,  and  succeeded.  The  Legislature  granted 
a  charter  in  1794.  A  house  was  built;  and  a  Latin  and 
Greek  school,  which  he  had  kept  at  his  own  house  for  the 
purpose  of  supplying  the  churches,  as  far  as  practicable,  was 
translated  to  this  infant  Academy."  We  have  given  this 
extract,  not  to  endorse  some  of  the  rather  severe  and  caustic 
reflections  on  the  trustees  and  people  at  Washington,  but  as  a 
historical  testimony,  as  to  the  period  when  Dr.  McMillan's 
school  coalesced  with  and  was  merged  into  the  school  at 
Canonsburg.  That  this  latter  school  had  a  prior  existence,  in 
some  humbler  form,  and  was  not  merely  an  out-growth  from 
the  Log-cabin  school,  is  proved,  first,  from  Mr.  Darby's 
statement,  ("Old  Redstone,"  page  193.)  "I  often  passed 
there  on  week-days.  Though  the  Academy  was  then  estab- 
lished in  Canonsburg,  the  school  (at  Dr.  M'Millan's,)  was 
still  in  operation,  but  when  discontinued  I  cannot  state." 
Secondly,  from  Dr.  M'Millan's  own  language,  in  an  original 
manuscript  of  the  Doctor's  in  our  possession  :  "I  had  still 
a  few  with  me  when  the  Academy  was  opened;  but,  finding 
that  I  could  not  teach  and  do  justice  to  my  congregation,  I 
immediately  gave  it  up  and  sent  them  there."  Thirdly,  from 
the  Rev.  R.  Patterson's  statement  this  is  also  inferred.  In  a 
letter  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  M.  Drown,  dated  October  1,  1846,  he 
states  that  a  conference  of  ministers  and  citizens  took  place  in 
July,  1791,  to  determine  the  locality  of  an  institution  on  a 
more  enlarged  scale,  commensurate  with  the  growing  demands 


20  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

of  the  church  and  the  country.  The  two  points  respectively 
advocated  by  Dr.  M'Millan  and  Col.  Canon,  were  the  Log- 
cabin,  near  Dr.  M'Milian's,  and  the  town  of  Canonsburg. 
Into  which  of  the  already  existing  schools  should  the  other 
coalesce  and  be  merged,  with  a  view  to  a  larger  academy, 
was  the  question.  It  was  decided  in  favor  of  Canonsburg; 
and  the  two  schools  were  very  soon,  thus  united.  This  is  our 
view  of  the  whole  case.  And  the  above  stated  facts  and  tes- 
timony are  adduced  in  its  support.* 


*  It  will  be  seen  in  tho  progress  of  our  account,  that,  according  to  the 
Rev.  R.  Patterson's  recollections,  Professor  Miller  was  then  teaching  and 
conducting  this  original  school;  and  that  Mr.  David  Johnston,  about  the 
middl'o  of  the  summer,  was  also  engaged,  not  to  supersede,  as  we  suppose, 
Professor  Miller,  who  taught  the  English  branchos  and  tho  mathematics,  but 
to  teach  tho  classical  department.  Our  view  of  tho  whole  matter  is,  that 
thore  was,  Jirsi,  Mr.  Millor's  school,  sustained  by  tho  gentlemen  in  and 
around  Canonsburg — then  this  school,  enlarged  by  the  employment  of  Mr. 
Johnston,  still,  in  fact,  under  tho  direction  and  control  of  these  gentlemen. 
Messrs.  M'Millan,  Honderson,  and  Smith,  at  this  timo,  when  tho  school  was 
enlarged,  heartily  co-operated  with  them  in  this  movement,  not  officially  as 
trustees,  nor  as  members  of  tho  "Academy  and  Library  Company,"  which 
was  tho  name  they  gave  themselves  about  this  timo.  Perhaps  tho  relations 
of  these  three  ministers  to  tho  Washington  Academy  were  still  such  as  to 
render  a  formal  relation  to  the  "  Company  "  improper;  perhaps  they  regarded 
tho  whole  enterprise  as  much  better  to  bo  left  in  the  hands  of  those  gentle- 
men, and  moro  likely  to  succeed  in  finding  favor  with  the  Legislature  of  tho 
State.  But  thoy  lent  their  hearty  agency  in  enlarging  the  foundations  of 
the  school,  and  starting  it  on  its  new  career.  Dr.  M'Millan  may,  at  this  time, 
have  fully  made  up  his  mind  that  it  should  supersede  and  take  the  place  of 
tho  "Log-cabin"  school.  And  so  it  might  have  been  understood  by  all 
parties  concerned.  Put  wo  think  that  in  tho  strict  history  of  the  case,  there 
was  here,  soon  after,  a  coalescence  between  the  Institution  already  begun 
at  Canonsburg,  and  now  further  enlarged,  and  the  "Log-cabin"  school — 
rather  than  as  has  often  boon  assorted,  that  "the  Canonsburg  Academy  grow 
out  of  the  Log-cabin,"  and  was  simply  an  enlargement  of  it.  That  the 
merging  of  the  "  Log-cabin  "  school  into  tho  Canonsburg  Academy,  and  the 
active  co-operation  of  Dr.  M'Millan  and  of  the  Presbyteries  and  churches, 
gavo  life  and  vigor  to  tho  Academy,  cannot 'be  doubted:  and  this  will  bo 
made  apparent  in  the  progress  of  this  history.  Though  there  was  no  formal 
recognition  of  tho  facts  above  stated  on  tho  part  of  the  "Academy  and 


THE  CANONSBURG  ACADEMY.  21 

Another  important  event  about  this  time  occurred.  The 
Synod  of  Virginia,  October  1st,  1791,  took  measures  to  get 
up  two  institutions,  one  in  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Lexington,  Virginia,  and  the  other  in  the  bounds  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Redstone,  (then  including  all  Western  Penn- 
sylvania and  Virginia,)  for  the  purpose,  especially,  of  aiding 
poor  and  pious  young  men  in  their  preparation  for  the  gospel 
ministry.  For  a  full  account  of  this  matter,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  the  note  below.*  The  latter  institution  was  placed 
under  the  immediate  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Redstone. 
And  Dr.  M'Millan  was  appointed  by  the  Synod  to  take  the 

Library  Company,"  or  their  trustees,  we  have  no  doubt  they  well  knew  the 
Academy  would  have  speedily  gone  down  but  for  these  main  elements  of  its 
life.  Why  there  was  not  a  greater  prominence  given  to  these  features  of 
the  case,  it  may  now  be  difficult  to  say.  Perhaps,  as  we  have  already 
intimated,  it  may  have  been  thought  wiser  and  more  prudent  With  such 
men  as  Col.  Canon,  Judge  M'Dowell,  Judge  Allison,  and  others,  some  of 
them  ruling  elders;  Messrs.  Henderson,  M'Millan  and  Smith,  may  have 
rightly  thought  the  whole  enterprise,  in  this  way,  would  be  perfectly  safe 
and  would  succeed  better. 

*  Tho  Synod  of  Virginia,  at  their  session  in  Winchester,  October  1,  1791, 
appointed  a  committee,  of  which  the  Rev.  Joseph  Smith  was  chairman,  to  form 
a  plan  for  promoting  the  education  of  persons  for  the  ministry  of  the  gospel, 
and  to  bring  in  an  overture  on  the  subject.  Upon  the  report  of  this  commit- 
tee, the  Synod  having  considered  the  same,  and  made  such  amendments  and 
additions  as  were  judged  necessary,  agreed  to  it — as  follows:  "As  the  sup- 
plying of  churches  with  a  pious  and  well  qualified  ministry  is  of  acknow- 
ledged importance — overtured — 1st.  That  the  Synod  of  Virginia  undertako 
the  patronage  of  a  seminary  of  learning  for  the  purpose  of  educating  young 
men  for  the  gospel  ministry.  2d.  That  they  devise  means  for  supporting  or 
assisting  young  men  of  piety  and  genius  in  procuring  an  education,  who  may 
not  be  possessed  of  sufficient  property  for  the  purpose.  The  '  Synod  highly 
approve  of  the  proposition  contained  in  the  overture,  as  they  are  well  con- 
vinced of  the  necessity  of  extending  the  opportunities  of  acquiring  knowledge, 
and  especially  the  knowledge  of  the  doctrines  of  religion,  to  all  who  intend 
to  preach  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the  world.'  Taking  this  measure 
therefore  into  serious  consideration,  the  Synod  recommend  that  there  be  two 
general  institutions  for  learning  conducted  under  the  patronage  of  this  body; 
one  to  be  established  in  Rockbridge  county,  Virginia,  under  the  care  of  the 
Rev.  William  Graham,  as  the  president;  the  other  in  Washington  county, 


22  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

management  and  direction  of  it.  The  Redstone  Presbytery, 
a  few  weeks  after  the  action  of  the  Synod  of  Virginia,  (Octo- 
ber 18,  1791,)  having  met  at  Pigeon  Crock,  approved  of  the 
recommendation  of  their  Synod,  and  appointed  Dr.  M'Millan 
their  treasurer,  and  "ordered  their  members  to  use  their  best 
endeavors  to  obtain  contributions  for  the  purpose  and  put 

Pennsylvania,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  John  M'Millan.     The  principles 

upon  which  these  institutions  are  to  be  conductod  aro  as  follows : 

"  1st.  Tho  learned  languages  and  usual  circlo  of  sciences  shall  bo  taught  in 
them,  to  as  many  as  shall  be  sent  there  for  instruction. 

"2d.  During  the  courso  of  academical  education,  and  from  the  first  initiation 
of  tho  studonts  into  tho  seminaries,  a  course  of  roligious  instruction  shall 
also  bo  entered  upon,  and  continually  adherod  to  during  their  residence 
there,  according  to  the  principles  of  our  church.  Books  of  a  practical  and 
doctrinal  nature  shall  be  put  into  their  hands  at  once.  Catechetical  lectures 
shall  bo  established  and  examinations  entered  into,  upon  their  progress  in 
this  kind  of  knowledge,  from  timo  to  time.  Tho  attention  to  these  studies 
shall  be  kept  up  during  tho  whole  of  their  academical  course,  and  suited  to 
tho  capacities  and  progress  of  the  youth. 

"  3d.  Tho  Prosbyterics  of  Lexington  and  Hanover  shall  bo  tho  trustees  of 
the  seminary  in  Rockbridge,  to  cherish  it  by  their  influence,  and  pointedly 
to  attend  the  examinations  of  tho  students,  either  in  a  collective  capacity,  or 
by  committees  from  their  respective  bodies,  duly  appointed.  The  Presby- 
tery of  Redstone  shall,  in  liko  manner,  superintend  the  seminary  in  Wash- 
ington county. 

"4th.  In  one  or  other  of  these  institutions,  it  is  tho  advice  of  the  Synod, 
that  all  tho  youth  within  our  bounds  who  intend  to  engage  in  the  ministry  of 
tho  gospel,  shall  be  instructed. 

"  5th.  As  thero  are  a  number  of  pious  youth  in  our  country  who  might  be 
servicable  in  preaching  tho  gospel,  but,  through  want  of  sufficient  ability, 
are  unable  to  obtain  an  education;  it  is  tho  intention  and  desire  of  S}Tnod 
that  the  ministers  in  their  respective  Presbyteries  shall  seek  out  such,  and 
that  they,  being  oxamined  and  approved  by  tho  Presbytery,  shall  bo  placed 
in  tho  respective  seminaries,  at  tho  expenso  of  the  Presbytery  who  shall 
approve  them. 

"  6th.  In  order  to  obtain  the  proper  supplies  for  such  indigent  students,  the 
Presbyteries  are  exhorted  to  use  their  influence,  in  their  respective  bounds, 
with  the  pious  and  benevolent,  to  mako  annual  contributions  for  raising  a 
fund  for  this  purposo  :  this  fund  to  bo  placed  in  tho  hands  of  tho  treasurers 
appointed  by  tho  Synod,  who  aro  to  return  annual  accounts  of  receipts  and 
expenditures ;  and  from  it  tho  youth,  upon  tho  foundation,  are  to  draw  their 


THE  CANONSBURG  ACADEMY.  23 

them  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  M'Millan  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
of  their  diligence  therein  to  render  an  account  at  the  next 
spring  meeting." 

No  precise  location,  otherwise  than  Washington  county, 
was  determined  by  the  Synod  as  to  the  Western  Institution. 
The  probability  is,  that  the  Synod,  though  leaving  that  mat- 
ter entirely  open  for  the  action  of  the  Presbytery  of  Redstone, 
supposed,  or  took  it  for  granted,  so  far  as  they  knew  the  views 
of  Messrs.  Smith  and  M'Millan,  and  the  course  pursued  by 
those  brethren,  that  the  location  would  be  either  Washington 
or  Canonsburg,  just  according  as  these  places  and  their  vicini- 
ties might  evince  the  more  decided  practical  co-operation. 
These  two  remarkable  men  were  the  most  prominent  movers 
in  the  whole  business  at  Synod.  Mr.  Smith  was  chairman  of 
the  committee  who  reported  the  whole  paper  on  the  subject. 
But  they  were  both  trustees  of  the  Academy  at  Washington. 
Mr.  Smith  lived  comparatively  in  the  vicinity,  and  his  con- 
gregation included  some  then  living  in  or  near  Washington. 
But  he,  sharing  with  Dr.  M'Millan  in  desponding  feelings 
about  the  further  prospects  of  Washington  Academy,  had 
united  with  Messrs.  M'Millan,  Henderson,  and  others,  but  a 
few  months  before,  in  a  memorable  transaction  at  Canons- 
burg, which  we  shall  presently  relate.  But  though  he  had 
aided  in  a  movement  to  get  up  the  Canonsburg  Academy,  as 
he  was  still  a  trustee  at  Washington,  and  he  had  not  yet  lost 
his  interest  in  that  place,  or  his  hope  of  reviving  that  sus- 
pended school,  it  was,  perhaps,  his  special  desire  that  the 
Synod  should  leave  the  precise  location  of  the  Presbyterial 

supplies,  by  an  order  from  their  respective  presidents.  And  those  youth, 
upon  their  obtaining  their  education,  at  the  expiration  of  one  year,  after 
being  settled  in  some  line  of  business,  shall  begin  to  refund  to  the  treasury 
the  expenses  of  their  education,  in  such  time  and  manner  as  the  Presbytery 
may  direct. 

"  7th.  The  rules  of  these  seminaries  and  the  mode  of  education  therein, 
shall  be  submitted  to  the  Presbyteries  for  their  respective  approbation." — 
«  Old  Redstone,"  pp.  423-5. 


24  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

school  undetermined.  He  soon  after  finished  his  course  by  a 
triumphant  death.  Had  he  lived,  it  is  hard  to  say,  what 
his  influence  might  have  been  in  determining  the  place  of  the 
school,  and  in  modifying  its  whole  character.  We  have 
already  seen  that  Dr.  M'Millan  lost  his  confidence  in  the 
institution  at  Washington.  He  considered  it  as  dead.  The 
Presbytery,  perhaps,  partook  largely  of  his  views  and  feel- 
ings. At  their  next  three  meetings,  however,  they  took  no 
decisive  action  on  the  subject.  It  was  a  time  of  unusual 
trouble,  from  the  Indians.  The  country  was  in  a  state  of 
great  distraction.  Perhaps,  also,  they  thought  it  prudent  to 
take  time  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  determine  wisely  what 
they  would  do  as  to  the  manner  and  place  of  carrying  out  the 
recommendation  of  the  Synod.  At  length,  when  they  met  at 
Pigeon  Creek,  October  18,  1792,  the  question  of  location,  as 
to  the  institution  intrusted  to  their  care  by  the  Synod,  was 
fully  considered,  and  the  several  places — Washington,  the 
Log-cabin,  and  Canonsburg,  were,  perhaps,  advocated  by  their 
respective  friends,  "  The  Presbytery  unanimously  agreed  to 
appoint  Canonsburg  to  be  the  seat  of  that  institution  of  learn- 
ing, which  they  are  appointed  by  Synod  to  superintend  ;  and 
that  all  the  young  men,  taken  upon  the  fund  for  the  support 
of  poor  and  pious  youth,  shall  be  educated  there."  An 
attempt  was  made,  subsequently,  to  get  the  Presbytery  to 
reconsider  their  action.  But  it  resulted  only  in  a  kind  of 
compromise,  by  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolution,  viz : 
"  That  if  it  should  appear,  at  a  future  day,  most  conducive  to 
the  good  of  the  church,  that  another  seminary  of  the  like 
nature  should  be  erected  in  our  bounds,  we  will  not  oppose  a 
division  of  the  funds."  This  was  at  Rehoboth,  April  18, 
1793.  This  determination  of  the  Presbytery  to  make  Canons- 
burg the  seat  of  their  institution,  though  it  did  not  result  in 
securing  to  the  Presbytery  any  control  over  the  Academy,  or 
any  right  or  power  to  sit,  as  a  co-ordinate  branch  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  or  to  elect  or  even  nominate  any  of  the 


THE  CANONSBURG  ACADEMY.  25 

trustees  or  teachers,  was,  nevertheless,  so  adjusted,  or  led  to 
such  arrangements  with  the  trustees,  as  to  answer,  in  their 
view,  the  design  of  the  Synod,  in  fact,  though  not  in  form. 
There  is,  indeed,  a  singular  minute  in  the  records  of  the 
Board,  for  1796,  hereafter  to  be  noticed,  in  which  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Ohio  is  mentioned,  as  uniting  with  the  trustees  in 
agreeing  to  support  two  teachers  of  the  languages.  But  other- 
wise, we  have  found  not  the  faintest  trace  of  anything  like 
ecclesiastical  supervision  ever  exercised  over  the  Academy. 
Having  given  this  account  of  the  doings  of  the  church, 
through  her  judicatures,  in  reference  to  our  institution,  we 
must  now  turn  back  a  little. 

It  appears  that  in  July,  1791,  it  was  settled,  at  a  conference 
of  citizens  and  ministers,  numerously  attended,  that  the  incip- 
ient steps  should  be  taken,  for  getting  the  Academy  under 
way.  Col.  Canon  made  a  donation  of  a  lot  for  the  erection  of 
a  suitable  building.  He  undertook  to  put  up,  immediately, 
a  large  stone  edifice,  and  have  it  prepared  as  soon  as  possible ; 
his  expenses  to  be  reimbursed  afterwards,  as  the  trustees 
might  be  able  to  provide.  In  the  meantime,  it  was  thought 
proper  to  open  the  Academy  at  once,  on  the  ensuing  day. 
The  Rev.  Robert  Patterson's  account  of  the  proceedings  of 
that  day  is  so  graphic  and  life-like,  that  we  shall  let  him  tell 
the  story : 

"An  appointment  was  made  to  meet  the  next  day,  Tues- 
day, 10  o'clock,  A.  M.,  in  a  small  English  school  house, 
near  Canon's  mill,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  village;  and 
a  genei'al  invitation  was  given  to  all  friends  of  learning 
and  of  their  country,  to  attend ;  and  then  and  there  to  see 
the  Canonsburg  Academy  opened.  Meantime,  Mr.  David 
Johnston,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  who 
had,  without  success,  been  trying  to  open  a  Latin  school  in  the 
town  of  "Washington,  was  invited  to  attend,  and  take  charge 
of  the  young  Academy.  At  10  o'clock,  on  Tuesday  morning, 
many  citizens  were  present  on  the  ground,  to  witness  the 
3 


26  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE. 

opening  of  the  first  academy  on  the  west  side  of  the  Alle- 
gheny mountains.  Of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  and  vicin- 
ity, there  were  present,  Judges  M' Do  well  and  Allison,  Craig 
Ritchie,  Esq.,  and  Rev.  Matthew  Henderson,  living  at  a  few- 
miles  distance.  Mr.  Henderson  was  a  Scotch  seceder  clergy- 
man, blessed  with  Scotch  talents,  Scotch  education,  Scotch 
theology,  and  Scotch  piety;  his  memory  is  still  highly  cher- 
ished, as  a  worthy  cotemporary  of  Messrs.  M'Millan  and 
Smith.  These  three  ministers,  with  Mr.  Johnston  and  two 
pupils,  William  Riddle  and  Robert  Patterson,  who  had  recited 
a  few  lessons  to  Abraham  Scott,  took  their  position  under  the 
shade  of  some  sassafras  bushes,  growing  in  a  worm  fence,  near 
the  English  school  house,  which  could  not  be  vacated  for  a 
short  time.  And  here,  under  the  pleasant  shade  of  the  green 
bushes,  protected  from  the  rays  of  a  July  sun,  {corona  pop- 
uliparva  ci/runistantc,)  the  two  pupils,  with  '  Corderii  Collo- 
quia'  in  their  hands,  were  just  about  to  read  '  Quid  agis,' 
when  Mr.  M'Millan,  addressing  his  two  brethren,  and  the 
small  assembly,  remarked  in  substance,  as  follows  :  '  This 
is  an  important  day  in  our  history,  affecting  deeply  the  inter- 
ests of  the  church,  and  of  the  country  in  the  West;  affecting 
our  own  interests  for  time  and  for  eternity,  and  the  interests, 
it  may  be,  of  thousands  and  thousands  yet  unborn.'  And, 
turning  to  Mr.  Henderson,  asked  him  to  engage  in  prayer, 
seeking  the  blessings  of  God  on  the  institution  now  to  be 
opened.  And  I  must  say,  the  broad  vernacular  pronuncia- 
tion of  the  Scotch  tongue  never  could  be  more  delightful  and 
impressive  than  it  was  then ;  while  every  thing  proper  to  the 
occasion  appeared  to  be  remembered  in  prayer,  by  this  good 
man.  *  The  first  lesson  in  the  Academy  was  soon  recited. 
Robert  Patterson,^  being  the  senior,  led,  beginning  the  first 

*For  a  sketch  of  the  Life  of  Mr.  Henderson,  see  .V  ; 

f  The  Rev.  Bobi  ri  Patterson — the  first  sin  •'.  nt 
was  born  April  1,  1773,  at  Stillwater,  New  York,  near  the  spot  afterwards 
celebrated  as  one  of  the  most  obstinately  contested  fields  of  the  Revolution. 


THE  CANONSBURG  ACADEMY.  27 

•nee  as  above,  l  Quid  agis.'  After  a  short  lesson  was 
recited,  and  before  they  were  dismissed,  Mr.  M'Millan  re- 
quested Air.  Smith  to  close  the  exercise  with  prayer.  Mr. 
Smith,  in  conclusion,  was  as  solemn  and  appropriate  as  Mr. 

Soon  after  hii  birth,  his  parents  removed  to  Gerniantown,  Pa.,  and  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  distinctly  remembered  the  battle  of  Gerniantown,  which 
occurred  when  he  was  in  the  fifth  year  of  his  age.  Aftor  a  brief  residence 
in  York  county,  on  the  farm  of  George  Ross,  father  of  the  late  lion.  James 
his  parents  emigrated  to  the  West,  and  took  up  then-  residence  in 
Washington  county,  in  1779.  About  this  time  the  attention  of  the  Pioneers 
■  .  our  church  was  directed  to  the  importance,  not  to  say  necessity,  of  train- 
ing  up  a  ministry  for  the  Western  churches  from  the  West  itself.  In  1785, 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Patterson,  father  of  the  deceased,  commenced  a  course  of 
I  study  with  the  Rev.  Joseph  Smith,  of  Buffalo  congregation,  was 
licensed  in  1788,  and  soon  afterwards  became  pastor  of  the  churches  of 
Racoon  and  Montour's  Run.  In  the  Spring  of  1791,  the  Rev.  Robert  Pat- 
torson  commenced  his  studies  at  Canonsburg  Academy,  then  just  opened, 
reciting  the  first  lesson  in  that  institution,  which  has  since  grown  up  into 
Jefferson  College.  His  interesting  letter,  given  above,  descriptive  of  the 
opening  scene  in  tho  history  of  the  Academy,  and  its  organization  under  the 
shade  of  the  sassafras  bushes  in  a  fence  corner,  on  the  banks  of  Chartiers,  has 
been  widely  read.  After  prosecuting  his  studies  for  three  years  and  a  half 
at  Canonsburg,  Mr.  Patterson,  in  the  Fall  of  1794,  entered  the  senior  class 
of  tho  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Philadelphia,  where  he  graduated  in 
179  J.  On  his  way  to  Philadelphia,  a  journey  then  performed  only  on  horse- 
back,  he  met  the  forces  sent  out  by  Government  to  quell  the  Whisky  Insur- 
rection.  After  his  graduation,  Mr.  Patterson  was  engaged,  for  nearly  five 
as  tutor  in  the  University,  and  in  the  further  prosecution  of  his  classi- 
cal and  mathematical  course.  He  returned  to  his  father's  residence,  at 
Racoon,  in  April,  1800,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  in  April,  1801,  having 
pursued  his  theological  studies  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ashbel  Green,  one  year  in 
Philadelphia,  and  one  year  afterwards  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  M'Millan.  In 
August,  1S01,  ho  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Jane,  daughter  of  Col.  John 
n.  of  Canonsburg;  and  in  the  Fall  of  1802,  was  installed  pastor  of  the 
rogations  of  Upper  and  Lower  Greenfield,  in  the  bounds  of  the  Presby- 
tery  of  Erie.  In  this  pastoral  charge,  supplementing  at  the  same  time,  a 
slender  ministerial  support  by  the  working  of  a  farm,  he  continued  four  and 
a  half  years;  when,  in  April,  1807,  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  take  charge 
of  the  Academy  at  Pittsburgh,  now  the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
During  tho  three  years  ho  presided  over  this  institution,  he  numbered  among 
his  pupils  many  who  afterwards  filled  prominent  public  stations,  and  who 
often  spoke  in  grateful  terms  of  his  care  and  faithfulness  as  an  instructor. 


28  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

Henderson  had  been  in  the  beginning ;  and  the  little  assem- 
bly retired  much  gratified,  and  with  high  expectations,  which 
have  been  abundantly  realized.  The  English  school  was  soon 
vacated,  and  served  for  a  place  of  recitation  till  autumn,  when 
Col.  Canon  had  so  far  progressed  with  a  fine  large  stone 
I  building,  as  to  afford  convenient  accommodation,  both  to 
'  teachers  and  students.  Mr.  Miller,  who  had  been  the  teacher 
in  the  English  school,  was  retained,  and  employed  as  professor 

From  1810  to  1836,  Mr.  Patterson  was  engaged  in  the  business  of  booksell- 
ing, and  for  a  portion  of  the  time  in  paper  manufacturing,  having  been  one 
of  the  proprietors  of  ono  of  the  first  paper  mills  established  in  the  West. 
His  business  operations  carried  on,  more  or  less  extensively,  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  and  causing  him  to  be  widely  known  in  this  capacity, 
throughout  the  Western  country  many  years  ago,  were  attended  with  many 
changes  and  severe  reverses.  During  the  greater  part  of  this  time,  Mr.  Pat- 
terson was  pastor  of  the  Highlands  congregation,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio. 
The  people  of  this  charge  have  often  affectionately  remembered  his  faithful 
ministrations  through  a  long  series  of  years,  and  the  recollection  of  the  rela- 
tionship he  had  sustained  to  them,  with  its  many  pleasing  associations,  was 
a  theme  of  grateful  acknowledgment,  on  his  part,  to  the  latest  period  of  his 
life.  In  1840,  Mr.  Patterson  removed  from  Pittsburgh  a  few  miles  into  the 
country.  So  long  as  the  infirmities  of  increasing  age  would  permit,  he  man- 
ifested his  continued  interest  in  the  service  of  his  Divine  Master,  by  preach- 
ing or  lecturing  occasionally  in  the  congregation  with  which  he  worshiped. 
For  many  years  the  things  unseen,  and  eternal,  formed  a  prominent  subject 
in  almost  every  conversation  in  which  he  took  part.  Scarce  an  acquain- 
tance, or  oven  an  entire  stranger,  who,  in  passing  his  late  residence,  has  over 
had  with  him  the  briefest  interchange  of  friendly  greeting,  but  could  add  his 
testimony  to  that  of  tho  Rev.  R.  Lea,  who,  in  conducting  the  religious  exer- 
cises at  his  funeral,  remarked  that  he  did  not  remember  a  single  conversa- 
tion with  him  for  years,  were  the  interview  long  or  short,  in  which  the  subject 
of  religion  had  not  been  introduced.  But  in  his  own  home,  his  spirituality 
of  character,  and  his  heavenly  mindedness,  shone  with  their  brightest  lustre. 
On  his  death  bed,  he  enjoyed  great  peace.  His  remarks  and  broken  sen- 
tences showed  that  whilst  affectionately  regarding  thoso  around  him,  his 
thoughts  were  with  that  Saviour  ho  was  so  soon  to  see.  On  Sabbath  after- 
noon he  lapsed  into  a  state  of  almost  lethargy,  which  continued  with  little 
interruption  until  Tuesday,  Soptombor  5,  1854,  when,  without  a  struggle  or 
a  sigh,  he  fell  asleep  in  Jesus.  Thus  died  that  excellent  man,  who,  when  a 
boy,  under  tho  sassafras  bushes,  road  tho  first  lesson  in  Corderii,  at  the 
opening  of  Canonsburg  Academy 


THE  CANONSBURG  ACADEMY.  29 

iu  the  mathematical  sciences,  and  proved  to  be  an  instructor 
of  the  highest  order,  and  continued  to  fill  the  place  thirty  or 
forty  years;  as  long  as  he  was  able  to  discharge  its  duties. 
His  memory  is  greatly  cherished  by  hundreds,  who  were 
taught  by  him.  In  a  short  time,  more  students  came  from 
the  region  of  country  around  than  could  have  been  generally 
expected,  in  a  land  that,  a  few  years  before,  had  been  an 
Indian  wilderness.  On  the  roll,  in  a  few  weeks,  were  entered 
Abraham  Scott,  Robert  Patterson,  William  Wylie,  Thomas 
Swearengen,  James  Snodgrass,  Ebenezer  Henderson,  James 
Duncan,  James  Allison,  Joseph  Doddridge,  Darsey  Pentecost, 
James  Dunlavy,  Daniel  M'Lean,  William  Kerr,  Philip  Dodd- 
ridge, and  Alexander  Campbell.  "  * 

The  institution  was  got  up  by  an  association  of  ministers 
and  citizens.  They  called  themselves  "  Contributors  to  the 
Academy  and  Library  ; "  and  about  the  time  above  indicated, 
by  previous  appointment,  they  met,  and  chose  by  ballot,  trus- 
tees. The  charter,  which  they  afterwards  obtained,  desig- 
nated them  "  The  Academy  and  Library  Company. "  Their 
constitution  required  nine  trustees,  to  be  elected  annually, 
by  those  who  had  contributed  to  the  Academy  and  Library, 
aud  who  were  entitled  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  the  Library, 
agreeably  to  certain  regulations.  But  of  their  earlier  meet- 
ings, previous  to  the  date  of  their  charter,  and  of  their  mode 
of  proceeding,  nothing  but  tradition  now  remains.  We  do 
not  know  with  certainty  who  were  the  nine  first  trustees. 
There  can  be  little  doubt,  however,  that  they  were  nearly,  if 
not  cprite,  the  same  that  we  find  in  the  recorded  minutes  in 
1796.  f 

*  Extract  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Patterson  to  Dr.  M.  Brown,  in  1845. 

-\  "When  the  academy  was  fairly  under  way,  and  the  new  building  finished 
and  opened  for  instructions,  the  trustees  inserted  in  the  Pittsburgh  Gazetto, 
in  1792,  the  following  notice  : 

"  The  building  for  the  Academy  at  Canonsburg  is  now  finished,  and  the 
institution  under  good  regulations.     The  Grammar  School  is  taught  by  Mr. 

3* 


30  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

The  contributions  for  the  support  of  the  Academy  were 
gathered  from  the  congregations  of  the  Presbyterians  and 
Seceders  through  the  Western  country.  The  ministers  were, 
in  many  cases,  very  active  in  gathering  these  offerings  from 
their  people.  They  consisted  not  solely  in  money,  but  in 
produce  and  articles  of  every  description.  These  offerings, 
(chiefly  by  promise  or  subscription,)  were  made  by  nearly  all 
Presbyterian  congregations  in  the  West,  for  the  purpose  both 
of  refunding  Col.  Canon  the  cost  of  the  Academy,  and  of 
aiding  in  payment  of  teachers,  besides  occasionally  with  a 
view  of  raising  means  to  support,  in  part,  young  men  who 
were  candidates  for  the  gospel  ministry.  The  history  of  the 
proceedings  of  one  minister,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Patterson,  will 
suffice  for  a  sample  of  what  was  generally  done  in  the  con- 
gregations west  of  the  mountains.  It  appears,  by  the  dates 
of  the  payments  made  by  him,  sometimes  to  Mr.  M'Millan, 

Johnston;  and  the  English,  Euclid's  Elements  of  Geometry,  Trigonometry, 
Plain  and  Spherical,  with  the  latter's  application  to  Astronomy;  Naviga- 
ion,  Surveying,  Mensuration,  Gauging,  Dialing  Conic  Sections,  Algebra, 
and  Book-Kooping,  by  Mr.  Miller;  both  well  known  for  their  attention  and 
abilities.  Boarding  in  the  neighborhood  to  be  had  at  good  houses,  at  the 
low  price  of  ten  pounds,  payable,  principally,  in  produce.  Tho  situation  is 
healthy,  near  the  centre  of  Washington  county;  the  fund  raised  by  the 
Presbytery,  and  to  be  applied  for  the  support  of  a  certain  number  of  scholars, 
annually,  is  directed  by  the  Synod  of  the  district  to  be  appropriated  to 
this  Acadomy.  It  is  hoped  the  public  will  regard  with  a  favorable  eye  this 
institution,  and  give  it  all  the  encouragement  that  it  may  deserve. 

"Nov.  2,1792. 

"  N.  B.  The  printers  in  the  different  States  will  please  insert  the  above 
in  thoir  newspapers. " 

This  is  truly  an  interesting  paper,  proving  that  science  and  litoraturo  were 
opening  their  stores,  on  the  very  outskirts  of  civilization,  at  a  period  when 
tho  savagos  of  tho  forest  had  not  yet  ceased  to  prowl  around  the  borders  of 
western  settlements,  and  oven  to  cherish  tho  hopo  of  repossessing  Washing- 
ton county  as  a  hunting  ground.  If  they  could  have  road  and  understood 
this  advertisement,  they  must  have  felt  somewhat  as  Hanibal  felt,  when  ho 
found  that  tho  Romans  wore  selling  tho  lots  on  which  his  army  was  encamped 
at  thoir  gates.  The  above  notice  may  be  seen  in  the  Lyceum,  at  Jefferson 
College. 


THE  CANONSBURG  ACADEMY.  31 

as  treasurer,  and  sometimes  to  Col.  Canon,  that  the  cost  of 
the  Academy  was  not  all  refunded  for  several  years — some  of 
the  receipts  being  as  late  as  1794-5.  There  are  found  among 
the  papers  of  Mr.  Patterson,  two  subscription  rolls  of  differ- 
ent date,  but  containing  in  part  the  same  names ;  the  latest 
of  the  two  being  dated  in  June,  1794 ;  the  last  also  stating 
that  it  was  for  the  purpose  both  of  finishing  the  Academy, 
and  for  aid  to  poor  and  pious  students.  One  of  the  papers 
has  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  names,  and  the  other  not 
quite  one  hundred.  But  little  was  paid  at  the  time  of  sub- 
scribing ;  and  but  little,  at  any  time,  in  money ;  great  part 
in  grain,  wheat,  rye ;  and  no  small  portion  in  linen ;  the 
linen,  chiefly  by  the  ladies  :  some  by  widows,  and  some  by 
wives  and  daughters  of  the  men  who  had  subscribed.  The 
sums  were  in  Pennsylvania  currency;  and  a  large  portion  of 
them  did  not  exceed  3s.  9d. — 7s.  6cL,  and  a  few  advanced  to 
10s.  and  15s.,  and  still  fewer  to  £1.  The  grain  was  delivered 
in  mills,  and  then  sold.  The  linen  was  sometimes  delivered 
to  the  Treasurer,  to  be  disposed  of  as  he  could,  at  Is.  l^d., 
per  yard,  or  25  cents.  One  subscription  was  to  be  paid  in 
Whisky  !  All  are  reported  on  the  papers  to  have  been  fully 
paid ;  and  the  amount  of  both  subscriptions  reached  nearly 


The  following  subscription  paper  will  be  found  very  inter- 
esting : 

"June  9th,  1794.  We,  whose  names  are  hereunto  signed, 
desirous  to  forward  the  Academy  building,  at  Canonsburg, 
do  promise,  for  that  purpose,  to  pay,  or  deliver  into  some 
mill,  in  the  bounds  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Patterson's  congrega- 
tion, the  quantities  of  wheat  or  rye  annexed  to  our  names, 
and  deliver  the  receipts  thereof  to  said  Patterson,  on  or  before 
the  end  of  this  present  year.  " 

The  following  may  be  selected  among  the  long  list  o*" 
names  found  on  this  interesting  paper  : 


oZ  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

James  Ewing,  5  bushels  of  wheat,  at  2  shillings. 

William  Flanegan,  1         "  "  "         " 

Robert  Moor,  2  "  "  "         « 

John  Logan,  2         "  "  "         « 

James  Laird,  4  "  "  "         « 

Samuel  Riddle,  (in  money,)  7s.  Gd. 

John  M'Millan,      cash,  $1. 

Joseph  Patterson,  cash,  $6. 

Mrs.  Vallandingham,      G  yards  of  linen. 

Mrs.  Lienor  Thompson,  3  yards  of  linen. 

John  Kelso,  4  bushels  of  wheat. 

John  Thompson,  4  "  " 

James  M'Bride,  3  bushels  of  rye. 

kughM'Coy,  4         "  " 

Alexander  M'Candless,  2  bushels  of  wheat. 

John  Cardike,  (a  pious  negro,)  2  bushels  of  wheat. 

George  Vallandingham,  cash,  7s.  Gd. 

Mrs.  Nesbit,  3  yards  of  linen. 

Widow  Riddle,  3  "    "  " 

Her  daughter  Mary,  3       "  " 

"The  value  of  these  old  papers,"  says  Professor  R.  Patter- 
son, who  furnished  them  to  Dr.  Brown,  "consists  in  their 
exhibiting  the  spirit  of  the  enterprise,  the  objects  for  which 
the  institution  was  founded,  and  the  humble  resources  of  its 
patrons.  Such  unassuming  donations  as  two  or  three  yards 
of  linen,  four  or  five  bushels  of  wheat,  rye  or  corn,  four 
pounds  of  tea,  would  astonish  the  present  race  of  students  at 
Canonsburg."  In  this  manner,  for  the  noblest  purpose, 
among  a  simple  and  hard  working  people,  in  the  seclusion  of 
the  valley  of  Chartiers,  was  laid  the  foundation  of  a  retreat 
for  learning,  whose  halls  would  be  resorted  to,  and  whose 
influence  felt,  when  the  country,  at  that  time  a  wilderness, 
would  be  teeming  with  a  busy  and  enterprising  population. 
May  the  far-sighted  sagacity  and  wide-reaching  philanthropy 


THE  CANONSBURG  ACADEMY.  33 

of  its  sires  descend  upon  its  sons.  Then  and  there  commenced 
an  institution  whose  pupils  were  thereafter  to  be  found  in  every 
honorable  profession  in  their  native  country — in  the  sacred 
desk,  at  the  bed-side  of  the  sick,  in  the  courts  of  justice,  and 
in  legislative  halls.  Others  bearing  the  everlasting  gospel  to 
distant  shores,  exerting  their  abilities,  acquired  or  strength- 
ened here,  to  elevate  and  enlighten  the  infidel  European,  the 
superstitious  Hindoo,  the  degraded  Chinese,  and  the  wild 
Indian  of  our  own  land.  In  view  of  the  circumstances 
attending  the  formation  of  this  institution,  the  sons  of  Jeffer- 
son College  need  not  fear  that  their  Alma  Mater  will  be  like 

"  The  tower  which  builders  vain, 
Presumptuous  piled  on  Shinar's  plain." 

Thus  began  the  Canonsburg  Academy,  and  such  the  history 
of  the  first  years  of  its  existence.  It  began  in  prayer  and 
was  supported  by  religious  patriotism;  and,  therefore,  no 
wonder  it  has  remarkably  flourished  and  gained  a  noble  rank 
among  the  literary  institutions  of  the  United  States. 

In  the  year  1794  a  charter  was  granted,  incorporating  the 
trustees  of  "The  Academy  and  Library  Company,  in  the  town 
of  Canonsburg."  This  charter  or  act  of  incorporation  was 
granted  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  of  which 
Judge  M'Kean  was  the  Chief  Justice,  agreeably  to  an  act  of 
the  Legislature,  April  6,  1791,  entitled,  "An  act  to  confer 
on  certain  citizens  of  this  Commonwealth,  the  power  and 
immunities  of  bailies,  politic  and  law."  This  gave  it  a  legal 
existence.  This  charter  the  venerable  founders  did  not  get 
till  the  institution  was  some  years  advanced  in  its  glorious 
career.  But,  as  Dr.  Brown  says,  "  They  had  a  charter  from 
a  higher  authority  than  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  or 
the  Supreme  Court,  venerable  as  it  then  was.  They  sought 
and  obtained  a  charter  from  the  Court  of  Heaven."  It  is 
obvious  that  neither  the  Presbyteries,  nor  the  church  as  such, 
acted  officially,  or  were,  in  any  way,  recognised  in  the  whole 
proceedings.     It  was  the  "Academy  and  Library  Company." 


34  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

We  do  not  believe  that  those  good  men  would  have  had  the 
smallest  objection  that  the  Presbyteries  of  Redstone  and  Ohio, 
and  the  Seceder  Presbytery  of  Chartiers,  should  hold  what- 
ever relation,  officially,  they  might  have  preferred.  But  it 
was,  perhaps,  regarded  as  wiser,  on  all  hands,  that  the  insti- 
tution, being  a  candidate  for  an  act  of  incorporation,  for 
Legislative  aid,  and  eventually  for  a  College  charter,  should 
be  divested  of  an  ecclesiastical  character.  There  was,  at  that 
tinic.,  much  inveterate  prejudice,  in  reference  to  ecclesiastical 
endowments,  by  legislative  enactments.  If  the  Academy  had 
assumed  the  name  and  form  of  such  an  institution  as  was 
contemplated  by  the  Synod  of  Virginia,  it  would  have  proba- 
bly been  refused  a  charter  and  all  legislative  aid,  and,  in  that 
event,  could  scarcely  have  been  sustained.  Our  forefathers, 
both  lay  and  clerical,  were,  in  these  matters,  wise  and  good 
men. 

From  1796  down  to  the  period  to  which  we  propose  to 
extend  this  historical  sketch,  wc  shall  derive  our  principal  aid 
from  the  records  which  were  kept  by  the  trustees.  Previous 
to  that  time  no  minutes  of  their  proceedings  are  to  be  found. 
These  old  records  begin  in  this  form:  "January  25,  1796. 
The  trustees  of  Canonsburg  Academy  met  at  Col.  Canon's, 
according  to  appointment.  Members  present,  Robert  Rals- 
ton, John  M'Dowell,  Thomas  Breckcn,  John  Canon,  James 
Poster,  James  Allison,  and  Alexander  Cook."  Mr.  Allison 
was  chosen  president,  and  Mr.  Cook,  clerk.  On  the  opposite 
page  there  is  a  statement  without  any  date,  as  to  the  year, 
"of  a  meeting,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  October,  of  a  number 
of  contributors,  who  proceeded  to  vote,  by  ballot,  for  trustees 
of  the  Academy  and  Library,  the  result  of  which  was,  that 
John  Canon,  John  M'Dowell,  Craig  Ritchie,  Robert  Ralston, 
Thomas  Breckcn,  James  Allison,  James  Poster,  David  Gault, 
and  Alexander  Cook  were  duly  elected."  But  as  no  date  of 
year  is  given,  we  cannot  tell  whether  it  was  in  October, 
immediately  previous  to  the  January  meeting,  above  notice  1, 


THE   CANON SBTJRG   ACADEMY.  35 

or  back,  some  years  before,  at  the  original  formation  of 
this  first  literary  association  of  the  West.  The  latter,  we  are 
inclined  to  suppose  from  the  prominent  place  this  minute 
occupies — being  entered  on  the  blank  leaf  which  precedes  the 
regular  recorded  minutes.  At  this  meeting,  in  January,  1796, 
the  trustees  prepared  and  adopted  a  petition  to  the  Legislature 
of  the  State,  praying,  that  if  they  should  establish  a  College 
on  this  side  the  mountains,  they  would  fix  it  at  Canonsburg. 
As  it  may  be  read  with  interest  by  many,  we  will  here 
insert  it : 

"That  your  petitioners,  confiding  in  your  patriotism  and 
good  wishes,  for  the  interest  and  advantage  of  this  extensive 
"Western  country,  whose  population  is  daily  increasing  with 
an  astonishing  rapidity — having  also  much  at  heart  the 
education  of  our  youth,  and  understanding  that  a  law  was  in 
some  forwardness,  last  year,  for  the  establishing  of  a  College 
on  this  side  the  mountains — humbly  beg  leave  to  request, 
that  if  such  a  pleasing  event  may  take  place,  due  regard  may 
be  had  to  the  most  convenient  place  and  other  local  advan- 
tages, hence  deriving  our  hopes  that  this  village  will  attract 
your  favorable  notice.  That  your  petitioners  are  firmly  per- 
suaded this  town  merits  a  decided  preference,  on  many  con- 
siderations. The  situation  is  remarkably  healthy.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  town  and  its  vicinity  are  generally  sober, 
orderly  and  religious.  Being  in  the  heart  of  a  very  fertile 
country,  and  at  a  considerable  distance  from  any  public  mar- 
ket, produce  must  necessarily  continue  low.  There  was,  some 
time  since,  a  handsome  stone  building  erected,  and  nearly 
finished,  wherein  a  respectable  number  of  youth  have  been 
instructed  in  classical  literature  and  the  mathematics,  and  in 
which  one  hundred  students  may  be  commodiously  taught. 
Boarding  and  lodging  may  be  obtained  in  decent  families, 
at  from  £12  to  £15  per  annum.  That  any  fund  appropriated 
by  the  Legislature,  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings,  for 
a   College,  would   thus,  in   some   measure,   be   anticipated, 


36  HISTORY    OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

should  the  honorable  House  think  fit  to  give  this  place  their 
sanction,  and  might  he  converted  to  its  interest  some  other 
"way.  From  these  considerations,  and  others  that  might  he 
mentioned,  we  humbly  hope  you  will  grant  this  to  be  the 
place  for  a  public  institution.  And  your  petitioners,  as  in 
duty  bound,  will  ever  pray,  &c,  &c. 

"Signed  by  order  of  the  Board, 

"James  Allison,  President. 
"Test— 
"Alexander  Cook,  Clerk." 

They  notice,  also,  that  their  clerk  had  received  and  paid 
over  to  Mr.  Ritchie,  two  pounds,  sixteen  shillings  and  seven 
pence,  for  the  use  of  the  Academy,  from  Mr.  Saunders,  being 
the  half  of  the  proceeds  of  two  nights  exhibition.  Of  the 
nature  of  this  gentleman's  performances,  nothing  is  recorded. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  trustees,  May  3,  1796,  after 
electing  Mr.  Ritchie,  treasurer,  they  directed  him  to  call 
upon  the  students  to  receive  their  respective  sums,  quarterly, 
or  what  part  of  a  quarter  may  be  due,  when  the  general  pay- 
ments shall  be  made;  and  to  keep  an  accurate  list  of  the 
names  of  the  students,  together  with  their  entry  and  departure 
from  the  school.  These  lists  to  be  furnished  by  the  "mas- 
ters." They  also  fixed  the  price  of  tuition  at  five  pounds  per 
annum,  and  directed  the  treasurer  to  pay  the  "masters" 
quarterly.  There  is  then  introduced  this  interesting  minute, 
out  of  chronological  order;  and  why  so,  is  no  where  explained : 

"Whereas  this  day,  being  the  28th  of  April,  1796,  it  is 
jointly  agreed  by  the  Reverend  Presbytery  of  Ohio  and  the 
Trustees  of  the  Canonsburg  Academy,  to  employ  two  masters 
to  teach  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  in  the  said  Academy, 
to  commence  from  the  2d  day  of  May,  1796,  viz. :  Mr.  David 
Johnston  and  Mr.  James  Mountain;  each  master  aforesaid  to 
receive  the  sum  of  ninety  pounds  specie  for  one  year;  and  to 
be  paid  quarterly,  in  equal  dividends;  for  which  we  jointly 


THE  CANONSBURG  ACADEMY.  37 

and  severally  become  bound,  as  witness  our  bands  the  day 
and  date  above  written 

Presbytery  Trustees. 

"John  M'Millan,  James  Allison, 

"Joseph  Patterson,  John  M'Dowell, 

"James  Hughs,  John  Canon, 

"John  Brice,  Thomas  Brecken, 

"Thomas  Marquis,  Alexander  Cook, 

"Thomas  Moore,  John  Foster, 

"Boyd  Mercer.  Craig  Ritchie." 

At  tbe  adjourned  August  meeting  of  tbe  Trustees,  tbey 
appointed  a  committee  to  adjust  tbe  balance  due  Col.  Canon, 
on  bebalf  of  tbe  Academy,  and  give  bim  assurance  of  pay- 
ment, in  tbree  months,  upon  receiving  from  him  a  legal  con- 
veyance of  tbe  Academy  lot,  and  appurtenances.  In  October, 
of  tbe  same  year,  a  number  of  contributors  met,  pursuant  to 
tbeir  rule,  selected  by  ballot,  as  Trustees  for  tbe  ensuing  year, 
tbe  Rev.  Messrs.  Josepb  Patterson,  Tbomas  Marquis,  and 
Boyd  Mercer,  and  Messrs.  James  Allison,  Jobn  Canon,  Alex- 
ander Cook,  James  Foster,  Jobn  M'Dowell,  and  Craig  Ritcbie. 
Tbese  Trustees  met  November  14,  1796,  and  elected  Judge 
M'Dowell,  President ;  Mr.  Ritcbie,  Treasurer ;  and  Mr.  Cook, 
Clerk.  Tbey  also  took  measures  for  surveying  and  securing 
tbe  Academy  lot,  appointed  an  usber  to  assist  Mr.  Mountain, 
and  increased  bis  salary  ten  pounds,  for  tbe  present  year. 
Mr.  David  Johnston,  wbo  had  been  absent,  and  out  of  tbeir 
employment  for  some  time,  wrote  to  the  Trustees  to  inquire 
whether  they  wished  again  to  employ  him  as  teacher.  This, 
tbey  informed  bim,  the  state  of  the  school  would  not  permit 
them  to  do;  assuring  him,  at  the  same  time,  that  no  man 
would  be  more  acceptable.  Some  service  of  tbe  county,  per- 
haps in  one  of  its  public  offices,  then  engaged  the  time  of  Mr 
Johnston ;  and  the  Trustees  intimated  to  him,  as  another 
4 


38  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

reason  for  declining  to  employ  him,  that  the  county  would 
probably  still  engage  his  services.  (Perhaps  he  had  formerly 
withdrawn  from  their  service,  on  account  of  more  lucrative  em- 
ployment; and  they  would  now  give  him  a  mild  hint  of  it.) 
They  agreed,  however,  that  his  family  might  still  occupy  the 
house  belonging  to  the  Academy  property ;  in  which  they 
resided  till  the  first  of  May. 

The  last  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  during  this  year,  occurred 
December  1,  1790.  They  authorized  the  President  to  give 
Col.  Canon  a  bond  for  one  hundred  pounds,  as  the  balance  due 
him,  on  sundry  accounts,  incurred  by  building  the  Academy, 
making  the  Academy  responsible  for  the  above  sum  to  the 
present  Trustees,  with  interest  upon  the  same  until  paid. 
Jbsrjth  Stockton,  (afterwards  the  Rev.  J.  Stockton,)  was  con- 
tinued an  assistant  tutor,  with  a  salary  of  £25  per  annum. 

During  this  period,  the  two  Presbyteries  of  Ohio  and  Red- 
stone, as  appears  from  their  records,  continued  to  watch  over 
this  institution  with  sedulous  care.  The  Presbytery  of  Ohio, 
at  their  usual  Spring  meeting,  recorded  that,  "  it  was  found 
upon  inquiry,  that  something  considerable  had  been  collected 
towards  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  building  of  the  Acade- 
my in  Canonsburg;  but,  as  enough  had  not  yet  been  raised, 
it  was  again  recommended  to  the  members  to  continue  their 
endeavors,  and  make  report  at  their  next  Fall  meeting." 
And  at  that  meeting  they  renewed  their  recommendation, 
stating  that  "  necessity  now  required  vigorous  efforts  for  the 
purpose. "  The  Presbytery  of  Redstone  sent  their  commis- 
sioners to  attend  upon  the  examination  of  the  students;  who, 
at  their  following  meeting,  made  a  favorable  report.  The 
Academy  was  rising  in  reputation,  and  increasing  in  number 
of  students.  The  employment,  for  some  time,  of  James 
Mount  din,  Esg.,  as  teacher  of  Languages,  was  propitious  to 
the  school.  He  was  a  thorough  classical  scholar,  a  polished 
gentleman  of  the  old  school  in  his  manners,  and  afterwards 
became  a  very  respectable  lawyer.     He  also  became,  in  sub- 


THE    CANONSBURO   ACADEMY.  39 

sequent  years,  a  trustee ;  and  we  well  remember,  in  our  col- 
lege days,  of  dreading  his  presence,  when  about  to  be  examined 
on  Latin  or  Greek.  It  was  said  he  had  nearly  the  whole  of 
Homer's  Iliad  in  his  memory,  and  could  recite  long  passages 
of  it,  with  great  fluency.  His  services  as  an  instructor  in  the 
classical  department  of  the  Academy  ended  with  April,  1797, 
as  he  insisted  upon  a  higher  salary  than  the  Trustees  felt 
warranted  to  give.  There  was  then  a  successful  effort  made 
to  secure  the  services  of  Messrs.  Oarndhan  and  /Stockton,  for 
£25  each,  for  six  months.  Mr.  Carnahan;  however,  made  it 
a  condition  that  he  should  be  at  liberty  to  withdraw  at  any 
time  after  the  space  of  three  months,  upon  his  giving  two 
weeks'  notice.  This  arrangement  was  made  in  April,  1797. 
Mr.  Watson,  who  was  then  in  his  senior  year,  and  about  to 
graduate  the  ensuing  Fall,  at  Princeton  College,  was  proba- 
bly already  in  the  eye  of  the  Trustees,  and  especially  of  Dr. 
M-Millan,  for  the  arduous  work  of  conducting  the  most  im- 
portant department  of  their  Academy.  Mr.  Patterson  had 
already  jotted  down  in  his  Diary,  (March  14,  1796,)  "  I  hear 
Mr.  M'Millan  intends  visiting  Princeton,  in  May,  in  order  to 
the  return  of  Messrs.  Watson  and  Hughs."  The  Trustees, 
in  anticipation  of  Mr.  Watson's  coming,  had  resolved,  and 
entered  it  on  their  minutes,  "  that  they  would  employ  him  as 
Teacher."  On  September  27,  1797,  they  agreed  with  him, 
"  To  teach  the  Academy  for  twelve  months,  beginning  from 
the  first  Tuesday  of  November  next ;  and  the  money  arising 
from  the  students  under  his  care,  he  accepts,  as  full  compen- 
sation for  his  labors ;  and  to  be  collected  in  the  same  manner 
as  usual."  He  was  also  to  employ  an  usher,  when  they  might 
think  it  necessary.  The  Trustees  were  re-elected  October  3d, 
for  the  ensuing  3-ear. 

During  the  session  of  the  Legislature,  nothing  was  done 
for  the  Academy.  The  number  of  students  was  thirty-five, 
and  five  in  Mr.  Miller's  department.  It  was  a  period  of  much 
religious  prosperity  also :  for  the  Rev.  Joseph  Patterson  notes 


40 


HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 


in  his  Diary  :  "  I  hear  that  there  is  not  one  student  now  in 
the  Academy,  hut  appears  to  have  religion,  or  is  a  subject  of 
sharp  awakenings."  This  was  June  29,  1797.  The  follow- 
ing persons  are  mentioned,  as  regular  members  of  the  two 
literary  societies,  (the  Philo  and  Franklin,)  then  formed 
among  the  students,  for  that  year.  We  give  their  names, 
with  the  titles  they  bore  in  after  life,  just  as  they  are  given 
in  the  catalogues  of  the  Societies. 


PHILO   SOCIETY. 

Rev.  John  Watson, 

Ex-President  of  Jefferson  College, 
Rev.  Jno.  Boggs,  Pa., 
Rev.  Robert  Lee, 
Rev.  Robert  Johnston,  Pa., 
Rev.  Wm.  M'Millan,  D.  D., 

Ex-Pres't.  of  Jeff,  and  Frank.  Colleges, 
Rev.  Wm.  Moorehead, 
Rev.  James  Satterfield, 
Rev.  Samuel  Tate, 
Rev.  J.  Smith, 
Wm.  Fowler, 
Rev.  Elisha  Macurdy, 
Rev.  John  M'Lain, 
Rev.  Joseph  Stockton, 
Rev.  Abraham  Boyd, 
David  Re  nn alls, 
William  Carr, 

It  is  probable  that  in  both  these  lists  there  are  some  errors, 
but  we  suppose  they  are  substantially  correct.  They  were 
not  all  students  of  the  college,  but  some  of  them  were  mem- 
bers of  the  faculty.  They  present  a  noble  set  of  names. 
There  are  several  still  living — the  Rev.  Messrs.  Robert  John- 
ston, James  Satterfield,  James  Carnahan,  D.  D.,  Cephas  Dodd, 
J.  Galbraith,  Jacob  Lindley,  and  Dr.  James  Power.  As  this 
year  is  memorable,  in  the  history  of  the  Academy,  for  the 
organization  of  the  above  mentioned  literary  societies^  it  may 
be  more  proper  here  than  elsewhere  to  give  seme  further 


FRANKLIN  SOCIETY. 

Rev.  James  Carnahan,  D.  D., 
Ex-President  of  Princeton  College, 

Rev.  Cephas  Dodd,  Amity,  Pa., 

Rev.  J.  Galbraith, Clarion  Co.,  Pa. 

Rev.  T.  E.  Hughs,  Darlington,  Pa., 

Rev.  Jacob  Lindley, 

Ex-President  of  Ohio  University, 

Rev.  Stephen  Lindley,  Ohio, 

Rev.  Wm.  Wood,  Mercer,  Pa., 

Rev.  Wm.  Wick,  Pa., 

Rev.  Johnston,  Eaton,  Erie  Co.,  Pa. 

Dr.  James  Power,  Pa., 

Rev.  Alex.  Monteith,  Pa., 

James  Marshall, 

Rev.  James  Hughs. 


THE  CANONSBURG  ACADEMY.  41 

account  of  them.  They  were  founded  by  graduates  of  Prince- 
ton. The  Phllo  Literary  Society  was  founded  by  the  Rev. 
John  Watson,  the  first  President  of  the  College,  August  23, 
1797 ;  and  the  Franklin  Literary  Society  was  founded,  No- 
vember 14,  1797,  by  Dr.  James  Carnahan,  who  had  been  a 
pupil  of  Watson's,  and  afterwards  teacher  for  some  time,  in 
the  Academy,  in  connection  with  the  Rev.  Thos.  E.  Hughs, 
who  we  know  was  also  a  graduate  of  Princeton.  Some  of 
the  founders  and  earliest  members  of  these  societies  still  sur- 
vive ',  and  the  names  of  those  who  have  gone  to  their  rest, 
will  be  remembered  with  honor  and  affection,  by  numerous 
friends  and  relatives.  They  were  generally  ministers  of  the 
gospel;  and  surviving  friends  will  be  gratified  to  find  their 
names  recorded  among  the  founders  of  these  two  fraternities. 
"  As  the  charter,  constitution,  and  laws  of  Jefferson  Col- 
lege, "  says  Dr.  Brown,  in  an  unpublished  life  of  Dr.  M'Mil- 
lan,  "  were  evidently  formed  on  the  model  of  Princeton,  so  it 
may  be  presumed  that  the  constitution,  rules  and  exercises  of 
the  Literary  Societies,  were  formed  on  the  plan  of  the  socie- 
ties at  Princeton.  The  founders  had  been  members  of  the 
Cliosophic  or  Whig  Societies  at  Nassau  Hall,  and  of  course 
would  introduce  into  the  new  societies,  whatever  they  deemed 
most  valuable,  adapting  them  to  the  condition  and  habits  of 
the  students,  and  state  of  society,  in  the  new  settlement  of  the 
country.  *  *  *  These  societies  have  been  greatly  useful. 
They  have  been  important  auxiliaries  to  the  College  in  disci- 
pline, in  maintaining  good  order,  and  in  training  the  minds  of 
the  students  to  habits  of  attention,  accurate  discrimination,  and 
argumentation,  so  as  to  improve  in  composition  and  oratory, 
to  an  extent  not  to  be  attained  in  the  ordinary  exercises  of 
the  college.  Here,  too,  young  men,  accustomed  to  observe 
the  strictest  parliamentary  rules,  in  their  discussions,  if  called 
to  the  halls  of  legislation,  or  to  act  a  part  in  popular  assem- 
blies, either  ecclesiastical  or  civil,  are  at  once  prepared  to  take 
an  active  part  in  the  discussions.  *  *  *  It  may  be  added,  as 
4* 


42  niSTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

deserving  special  notice,  that  there  was,  from  the  first,  an  im- 
portant exercise  introduced  into  these  societies,  -which  had 
not  been  introduced  at  Princeton,  nor  any  of  the  eastern 
colleges.  We  refer  to  the  Literary  Contest  between  the  two 
societies,  iu  composition,  oratory,  and  debate.  This  takes 
place  once  a  year.  Judges  are  appointed  to  decide  on  the 
merits  of  the  performances.  These  exercises,  though  attended 
with  some  disadvantages,  have  had  a  most  powerful  influence 
in  stimulating  the  students  to  aspire  after  excellence  in  these 
attainments.  The  Contest,  first  introduced  at  Canonsburg, 
was  afterwards  adopted  in  Washington  College,  and  since,  by 
a  number  of  Seminaries  in  the  West  and  South.  The  socie- 
ties are  secret,  to  some  extent ;  their  constitution,  rules  and 
proceedings,  are  kept  secret.  But  they  are  not  secret,  affili- 
ated societies,  bound  together  by  one  common  bond — subject 
to  one  superior  power,  to  give  laws  to  the  subordinates ;  and 
thus,  by  an  unseen,  powerful  influence,  control  the  whole. 
Such  societies  are  evidently  of  dangerous  tendency — arc 
odious  to  the  great  body  of  Christians,  and  have  had  a  most 
unhappy  influence  in  the  church,  and  on  the  community  at 
large.  The  literary  societies  in  college  are  not,  as  stated, 
affiliated,  but  rival  institutions.  They  cannot  combine  to 
effect  evil  purposes.  Members  of  the  Faculty  are  also  mem- 
bers of  these  societies;  and  no  plot  or  combination  could 
occur  without  their  knowledge.  It  is  absurd  to  plead  their 
example  in  justification  of  secret  affiliated  combinations,  bound 
by  solemn  oaths  aud  pledges,  held  by  many  of  them  as  of 
higher  obligation  than  the  oath  administered  by  civil  authority. 
Within  a  few  years  past,  some  new  orders  of  secret  societies 
have  been  introduced  into  colleges,  and  have  their  connection 
in  most  of  the  literary  institutions  of  the  United  States. 
Their  tendency  is  most  dangerous.  Linked  together  by  sacred 
badges  and  oaths,  their  influence  has  been,  in  many  places, 
disastrous.  It  is  to  be  deeply  regretted  that  they  have  bad 
influence  to  induce  members  of  the  church,  and  some  bencfi- 


THE  CANONSBURG  ACADEMY.  43 

ciaries  to  join  them.  It  is  to  the  honor  of  the  Literary  Socie- 
ties of  Jefferson  College,  that  they  have  taken  a  noble  stand 
against  them — adopted  resolutions  to  expel  any  who  are  known 
to  adhere  to  them.  Still,  it  has  been  found  difficult  to  detect 
them,  and  their  pernicious  influence  is  still  experienced  to 
some  extent.  Unless  these  societies  are  put  down,  the  conse- 
quence must  be  ruinous  to  all  colleges  in  our  country,  as  to 
morals,  discipline,  and  substantial  learning. "  Thus  wrote 
the  late  venerable  President  of  Jefferson  College,  whose  wis- 
dom and  experience  of  college  life  gave  him  a  right  to  speak 
" ex- Cathedra."  He  does  not  speak  too  strongly,  we  appre- 
hend, on  this  delicate  subject.  The  Trustees  of  Princeton 
College  have  recently  determined  to  root  out  these  secret  socie- 
ties from  their  institution.  We  hope  they  have  succeeded. 
And  we  hope  the  Trustees  of  Jefferson  College  will  follow 
their  example.  Though  the  above  extract  is  somewhat  long, 
we  thought  it  due  to  Dr.  M.  Brown  to  give  him  a  full  hearing 
on  this  subject.  *     The  attention  of  the  Presbyteries  of  Ohio, 

*  Wo  are  well  aware  that  it  will  require  no  ordinary  prudence,  as  well  as 
energetic  decision,  on  the  part  of  Faculties  and  Boards  of  Colleges,  to  sup- 
press these  secret  associations.  Young  men  are  apt  to  regard  such  measures 
as  an  unreasonable,  tyrannical,  and  oppressive  exercise  of  authority  ;  and  as 
an  infringement  of  their  rights.  It  is  not  easy  to  convince  them  that  such 
societies  are  of  a  dangerous  tendency;  and  that  a  larger  experience  will 
eventually  satisfy  them  that  here  is  a  case  in  which  their  relinquishment  of 
an  apparently  harmless  practice  is  duo  to  the  general  welfare  of  colleges, 
and  to  the  judgment  and  wishes  of  older  heads.  The  co-operation  of  en- 
lightened public  opinion,  and  especially  of  the  great  body  of  the  Alumni  of 
our  colleges,  now  engaged  in  the  activo  scenes  of  life,  would,  perhaps,  be 
of  essential  service,  in  giving  practical  efficiency  to  the  efforts  of  tho  officers 
of  colleges,  in  rooting  out  secret  clubs.  In  what  way  such  co-operation  could 
be  secured,  we  leave  for  the  consideration  of  others.  With  the  co-operation 
of  public  opinion,  and  of  those  who  have  formerly  been  students  in  our  col- 
leges, the  Faculties  and  Trustees  could  scarcely  fail  in  effecting  the  extinc- 
tion of  secret  societies.  But  reason,  kindness,  and  persuasion,  not  harsh 
decrees  and  menaces  of  expulsion,  should  be  used.  As  we  design  to  givo  a 
more  extended  historical  sketch  of  the  two  Literary  Societies,  together  with 
a  list  of  tho  questions  discussed  at  their  Contests,  we  shall  not  here  extend 
our  remarks. 


44  HISTORY    OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

and  of  Redstone,  during  the  period  under  review  in  this  chap- 
ter, was  directed  with  renewed  zeal,  to  the  interests  of  this 
child  of  their  adoption.  In  the  course  of  1797,  we  find  on  the 
minutes  of  Redstone  Presbytery,  no  less  than  three  notices 
about  it — first  at  their  meeting  at  Fairfield,  April  18,  1797. 
"The  Committee  appointed,  at  our  last  meeting,  to  assist  the 
Presbytery  of  Ohio  in  an  examination  of  the  students,  and 
an  inquiry  into  the  state  of  the  Academy  at  Canonsburg, 
brought  in  their  report,  which  was  read  and  adopted."  Then 
at  Dunlap's  Creek,  June  28,  1797.  And  also  recommended 
contributions  by  their  next  meeting,  "  finding  that  the  Acad- 
emy at  Canonsburg  labors  under  very  great  difficulties,  from 
want  of  some  pecuniary  aid. "  Again,  at  Rehoboth,  October 
18,  1797,  they  repeat  the  recommendation  to  raise  contribu- 
tions, and  appoint  an  examining  committee.  Lastly,  at 
Pigeon  Creelc,  Decemher  26,  1797,  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio 
reiterate  the  same  call  for  aid  to  the  funds  of  the  Academy. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  ACADEMY  BECOMING  A  COLLEGE. 

Trustees  and  Officers — Another  Petition  to  Legislature — Judge  Edgar — 
Presbytery  of  Redstono — Old  Mr.  Patterson's  account  of  Academy  in  1798 
— Rules  and  Regulations — Colonel  Canon's  death  and  character — Legisla- 
tive aid — Now  Movement  to  get  College  Charter — Act  of  Trustees,  about 
conditions  of  preaching  in  Academy — Members  added  to  tho  Societies — 
Change  of  Constitution  in  1798 — Names  of  Trustees — Charter  of  Jefferson 
College,  in  1802 — Why  called  after  Mr.  Jefferson — Good  reasons  for  tho 
namo — New  Trustees — New  Rules — Mr.  Watson,  1st  President;  his 
doath  and  character — 3Ir.  Dunlap  elected  President;  his  character. 

Wo  are  now  entering  upon  a  period  fraught  with  facts  and 
incidents  of  no  less  interest,  in  their  bearing  upon  the  char- 
acter and  prospects  of  the  rising  Academy  and  future  College 
than  those  of  any  previous  period.  The  trustees,  at  their  first 
meeting  this  year,  in  April,  elected  Judge  M'Dowell,  Presi- 
dent, and  Craig  Ritchie,  Esq.,  Clerk.  The  Board  also 
appointed  .Dr.  M'Millan,  President  of  the  Academy.  This 
seems  to  have  been  merely  an  honorary  office,  at  this  time, 
and  not  requiring  anything  further  than  a  general  supervision 
of  the  institution.  It  may  also  be  noted,  that  at  the  same 
meeting,  they  resolved  they  would,  thenceforward,  begin  and 
close  their  sessions  with  prayer.  This  pious  resolution,  with 
all  serious  minds,  will  satisfactorily  account  for  the  eminent 
wisdom  and  judgment  which  guided  most  of  their  subsequent 
deliberations.  They  also  fixed  Professor  Miller's  salary,  at 
this  time,  at  £100;  and  as  the  income  then  was  not  sufficient 
to  make  up  this  sum,  the  trustees,  themselves,  pledged  various 
amounts,  from  £10  to  £3,  as  a  loan,  to  be  afterwards  refunded. 

(45) 


46  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

Dr.  M'Millan  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list,  for  £10.  Messrs. 
Patterson,  Hughs,  Moore,  Marquis,  and  D.  Smith  for  from 
£6  to  £4;  and  Messrs.  Allison,  Edgar  and  Ritchie,  £3  each. 
At  their  October  meeting  they  appointed  Messrs.  Findley, 
Edgar  and  Ritchie,  a  committee  to  draught  another  petition 
and  memorial  to  the  State  Legislature,  for  pecuniary  assist- 
ance to  the  institution;  which  was  afterwards  reported  and 
adopted,  and  being  signed  by  the  President,  Judge  M'Dowell, 
was  committed  to  the  Hon.  William  Findley,  Judge  M'Dow- 
ell, and  John  Wright,  Esq.,  to  be  forwarded  by  them  to  the 
Legislature.  This  petition,  differing  materially  from  the 
former  one  in  its  object,  contains  some  new  items  of  interest, 
and  some  arguments  very  forcibly  put,  and  will  repay  a 
perusal.     It  is  as  follows : 

"To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Pennsylvania,  in  General  Assembly  met : — 
The  memorial  and  petition  of  the  Academy  and  Library 
Company,  of  the  town  of  Canonsburg,  in  the  county  of 
Washington,  respectfully  showeth — That  the  said  Academy 
and  Library  was  originated  and  carried  on  by  the  attention 
and  at  the  expense,  chiefly,  of  a  few  public  spirited  citizens, 
residing  in  the  town  and  vicinity  of  Canonsburg.  and  that, 
owing  to  the  convenience  of  accommodation,  the  low  price  of 
boarding,  and  the  care  that  has  been  taken  toprovide  suitable 
teachers,  this  institution  has  been  very  beneficial  in  promoting 
the  education  of  youth.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years  past, 
twenty-one  young  men,  who  are  now  employed  in  the  pr.  >t  j- 
sions  of  divinity,  law  and  medicine,  received  the  ruclinierrts  of 
their  education  at  this  school ;  nine  others  have  also  completed 
their  classical  education,  and  are  pursuing  the  studies  requi- 
site to  qualify  them  for  one  or  other  of  the  learned  profes- 
sions. Thirty-two  are  at  present  employed  in  learning  the 
languages,  and  acquiring  the  knowledge  of  the  Mathematics 
and  Natural  Philosophy.  One  master,  and  assistant,  are 
employed  in  teaching   the    learned    languages,   and   another 


THE  ACADEMY  BECOMING  A  COLLEGE.        47 

teacher,  the  other  branches.  Each  of  the  masters  has  had  a 
regular  and  extensive  education;  and  they  are  men  of  fair 
character.  The  tuition  money  for  teaching  the  languages, 
though  the  charge  is  moderate,  is  nearly  sufficient  to  defray 
the  expense  of  that  part  of  instruction.  But  the  profits 
arising  from  teaching  the  mathematics  and  natural  philo- 
sophy, come  far  short  of  the  expense,  though  the  teaching 
of  them  is  indispensable  to  the  institution.  We  trust 
we  are  warranted  in  saying,  that  the  said  Academy  has  been 
more  successful,  notwithstanding  the  want  of  public  aid, 
than  any  or  all  of  the  other  institutions  in  the  western  coun- 
ties of  Pennsylvania.  Permit  us  to  add  that  there  is  a  con- 
venient house  erected  for  the  purpose,  at  the  personal  expense 
of  the  trustees,  with  the  assistance  of  private  contributions; 
but  the  Library  is  so  small  as  to  be  wholly  insufficient  for  the 
purpose.  From  this  view  of  the  situation  of  the  Academy 
and  Library,  of  which  we  are  trustees,  we  hope  that  the 
Legislature  will,  in  pursuance  of  the  powers  vested  in  them 
by  the  Constitution,  be  convinced  of  the  propriety  of  granting 
such  assistance  to  this  institution,  as  they,  in  their  wisdom, 
shall  judge  proper.  They  will,  no  doubt,  think  with  us,  that 
it  will  be  a  public  injury  to  suffer  it  to  perish,  after  having 
been  productive  of  so  much  good,  and  having  its  character 
for  usefulness  so  well  established.  We  are  also  sufficiently 
warranted  in  saying,  that  no  place  in  Pennsylvania  affords 
cheaper  accommodations  for  students,  and  that  the  situation  is 
cental  to  all  the  western  counties,  and  very  little  exposed  to 
put  lie  report,  or  such  amusements  as  have  a  tendency  to  cor- 
rupt gfcLe  morals  of  young  men,  or  divert  them  from  their 
studies.  We  further  assure  the  Legislature,  that  if  public 
assistance  is  not  given,  the  institution  cannot  be  carried  on  to 
advantage,  nor  the  library  be  rendered  competent.  We  beg 
leave  to  state  that  petitions  in  behalf  of  this  Institution,  and 
a  Bill,  read  the  second  time,  for  granting  assistance  to  it,  are 
on  the  files  of  a  former  Assembly.  Hoping  that  the  Legisla- 
ture will  enable  the  Trustees  to  support  an  Institution  which 


48  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

Las  already  been  productive  of  so  much  good,  at  the  charge 
of  a  few  public  spirited  citizens,  your  petitioners,  as  in  duty 
bound,  will  ever  pray,  &c. 

"  Signed, 
"JOHN  M'DOWELL,  President. 
"  Attested  by  the  Secretary." 

The  Trustees  again  advanced,  on  individual  loan,  various 
sums,  as  before,  to  secure  the  continued  services  of  Professor 
Miller.  They  also  elected  Judge  Edgar  President  of  the 
Board,  for  the  ensuing  year,  and  adopted  a  variety  of  by-laws 
for  their  own  benefit.  Nothing  further  as  to  the  doings  of 
the  Trustees  seems  to  claim  attention  at  this  time.  Mr. 
Patterson  says,  as  to  this  period:  "  The  Academy  appears 
to  flourish  under  the  tuition  of  Messrs.  Watson  and  Hughs.  " 
Again,  October  21,  1798  :  "This  morning  I  am  setting  out 
to  attend  the  examination  at  Canonsburg.  It  is  expected  that 
Mr.  Watson  will  continue  at  the  Academy,  where  the  power 
of  God  yet  appears  among  the  students."  Again,  the  next 
day:  "Canonsburg  Institution  here  is  truly  useful.  "  The 
Philo  Literary  Soviet)/,  report  as  belonging  to  the  year  1798, 
the  following  additional  regular  members:  "The  Rev.  Reed 
Brecken,  Pa.,  Rev.  James  Robinson,  Rev.  Robert  M'Garragh, 
Rev.  Alexander  Boyd,  Thos.  Vincent,  Caleb  Baldwin,  John 
Findlcy. "  The  Franklin  Literary  Society,  for  the  same 
period,  the  following:  "The  Rev.  Messrs.  Andrew  M'Don- 
ald,  Nicholas  Pittinger,  Smiley  Hughs,  Wm.  Neil,  D.  D., 
Ex-President  Dickinson  College,  Pa.,  Daniel  Milliken,  James 
Ramsey,  D.  D.,  Ex-Professor  Hebrew,  Jefferson  College,  and 
Messrs.  Wm.  Hartley,  Thos.  M'Giffen,  Esq.,  Washington, 
Pa. ;  Hon.  Geo.  Torrence,  Cincinnati,  Ohio ;  George  Paul,  and 
Wm.  Jones. 

In  the  following  year,  the  Trustees  adopted  some  excellent 
regulations,  in  regard  to  the  course  of  instruction.  They 
prescribed  a  curriculum  of  studies,  which  they  would  require, 
in  order  to  secure  their  final  Latin  certificate .     They  prescribed, 


THE  ACADEMY  BECOMING  A  COLLEGE.        49 

as  to  the  Latin  course,  besides  the  common  introductory  books, 
"the  three  first  books  of  '  Selectae  e  profanis, '  six  books  of 
Ovid,  the  Eclogues  and  Georgics  of  Virgil,  and  the  first  six 
Aeneids;  all  Horace,  and  the  Orations  of  Cicero.  Then,  in 
the  Greek,  the  usual  parts  of  the  Greek  New  Testament. 
The  first  four  Books  of  Xenophon's  Cyropsedia,  and  four 
Books  of  Homer's  Iliad.  In  Mathematics,  "  the  whole  of 
Arithmetic."  "The  first  six  books  of  Euclid's  Elements," 
"  Simpson's  Algebra  "  to  the  50th  problem,  or  the  equivalent 
in  some  other  author.  "  Trigonometry,  Surveying,  Martin's 
Natural  Philosophy,  Astronomy  and  Geography,  comprising 
the  use  of  the  Globes."  Also  "Rhetoric,  Logic,  and  Moral 
Philosophy."  But  they  did  not  prescribe  the  authors  to  be 
studied  in  these  brunches.  This  course,  thus  prescribed,  will 
give  us  some  idea  of  the  extent  of  educational  training  then 
attempted.  Though  very  inferior,  in  some  respects,  and,  in- 
deed, altogether  wanting  in  various  branches  of  science,  now 
considered  essential  to  a  thorough  college  course,  it  was  nev- 
ertheless suited  to  those  times,  and  certainly  laid  a  good  foun- 
dation of  scholarship,  which,  in  many  cases,  was  afterward 
matured  to  a  degree  of  attainment,  in  no  respect  inferior  to 
the  liberal  education  attainable  anywhere  in  our  country,  at 
that  period.  We  believe  there  were  as  large  a  proportion  of 
respectable  scholars  prepared  and  trained  in  this  way,  then  as 
note.     The  Latin  certificate  ran  in  this  form : 

"  Praeses  et  Curatores  Academiae  Canonsburgiensis,  omni- 
bus et  singulis,  literas  lecturis,  Salutem  in  Domino.  Notum 
sit,  A.  B  ,  artibus  liberalibus,  in  hac  Academia,  datis  operam 
dedisse,  et  harum  ejus  peritiam  examine  accurato  esse  appro- 
batam,  cujus  nomina  nostra  huic  membranae,  subscripta  sint 
testimonium. 

"Datum  Academiae  Canon.  " Nomina  Presidis, 

"  Octavo  Kalendarum  Nov.  "  et 

"  Anno  Domini — "  "  Curatorum. 
5 


50  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

The  Trustees  resolved  also  to  mention  publicly  the  names 
of  such  students  as  "were  remarkable  for  their  industry  and 
accuracy;  and  also  those  who  should  be  marked  for  their  in- 
dolence and  deficiency,  at  every  public  examination.  And  at 
every  Fall  Examination  they  determined  to  designate  four 
students,  whom  they  shall  think  most  deserving,  as  accurate 
diligent  scholars,  two  of  them  being  of  the  Mathematical 
School,  the  other  two  of  the  Languages ;  which  students,  in 
the  order  in  which  they  shall  be  mentioned  by  the  Trustees, 
as  meritorious,  shall  have  the  privilege  of  choosing  their 
places  of  speaking,  on  the  day  of  public  exhibition,  .and  of 
wearing  honorary  badges ;  which  privileges  shall  be  granted 
to  no  other  students  at  that  time.  These  regulations,  no 
doubt,  exerted  a  salutary  influence  in  those  early  days  of  the 
Academy.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  April  23,  1799, 
the  Board  proceeded  to  the  choice  of  a  Trustee,  in  the  place 
of  Col.  John  Canon,  deceased ;  and  the  Hev.  John  M'Millan 
was  duly  elected.  It  is  thus  we  incidentally  learn  the  fact 
of  the  recent  death  of  that  early  friend  and  patron  of  the 
Academy,  whose  name  should  stand  high  on  the  roll  of  its 
venerable  founders.  He  lived  to  see  that  school,  to  which 
he  was  so  much  attached,  and  to  the  interests  of  which  he 
devoted  so  much  of  his  care  and  time  and  money,  fairly  on 
the  way  in  its  glorious  career.  *  Immediately  following  the 
above  minute,  it  is  added  :  "On  motion,  adopted  as  a  rule 
that  any  person  who  receives  a  salary  from  this  Academy, 
shall  not  be  a  trustee."     This  was  entered,  no  doubt,  to  show 


*  "  Col.  Canon,  the  founder  of  Canonsburg,  was  an  active,  intelligent,  and 
gentlemanly  man.  He  died  when  but  little  past  the  meridian  of  life  :  leav- 
ing a  widow  and  several  children.  Mrs.  Canon  was  regarded  as  the  lady  of 
the  place,  and  deservedly;  for  she  was  eminently  pious,  friendly,  and  gen- 
erous. Her  house  was  the  seat  of  hospitality,  the  favorite  resort  ol  Christian 
ministers,  and  serious  students.  She  and  all  her  children  are  dead,  except 
Mrs.  Patterson,  widow  of  the  late  Rev.  R.  Patterson,  a  lady  of  quiet  worth, 
and  attractive  social  qualities,  " — Dr.  Neill  in  Free.  Mag.  Fib.  1857,  jtaje  87. 


THE  ACADEMY  BECOMING  A  COLLEGE.        51 

that  Dr.  M'Millan's  election,  though  nominally  Principal  of 
the  Academy,  yet,  as  he  received  no  salary,  was  unexception- 
able ;  and  could  not,  therefore,  be  made  a  precedent  for  a 
a  similar  election  of  a  member  of  the  Faculty,  unless  he  was 
merely  an  honorary  member. 

The  ensuing  year,  1800,  was  signalized  in  the  history  of 
the  Institution,  by  a  Legislative  grant  of  $1,000 ;  which,  no 
doubt,  though  long  deferred,  was  most  seasonable ;  and  for 
awhile  relieved  the  Academy  from  pressing  embarrassments. 
Besides  discharging  several  debts,  it  enabled  the  Trustees  to 
make  repairs  and  alterations  of  their  house,  and  to  purchase 
a  small  supply  of  Philosophical  Apparatus.  It  is  worthy  of 
notice,  also,  that  the  trustees,  with  scarcely  an  exception, 
threw  up  their  claims  for  the  several  sums  they  had  loaned 
the  Institution.  Though  they  were  almost  all  of  them  in 
very  moderate  circumstances,  they  were  a  noble,  public-spir- 
ited set  of  men,  who  willingly  made  great  sacrifices  for  the 
Academy.  Their  names  should.be  had  in  everlasting  remem- 
brance. A  movement  was  now  made  (in  October,  1800)  to 
get  the  Academy  converted  into  a  College.  The  appropriation 
■which  they  had  received  from  the  Legislature,  encouraged 
them  to  make  the  effort.  They  accordingly  appointed  Messrs. 
M'Millan,  Allison,  Cook,  and  Ritchie  to  draft  a  petition  fcr 
this  purpose.  Their  memorial  is  not  on  record  ;  but  we  can 
well  conceive,  from  their  former  petitions,  what  was  its  general 
drift.  It  was  not,  however,  granted  the  ensuing  winter.  Not 
till  January  15,  1802,  did  the  General  Assembly  pass  that 
important  act.  In  the  meantime,  though  little  of  importance 
occurred  in  the  history  of  the  Academy,  during  its  short 
remaining  existence,  we  may  note  a  few  things.  One  item  that 
now  appears  rather  amusing,  is  that,  in  October,  1800,  the 
Trustees  passed  an  order,  "  That  no  minister  be  permitted  to 
preach  in  the  Academy,  except  those  of  the  Presbyterian  or 
Seceding  denominations;  and  the  latter  only  upon  their  pay- 
ing one  dollar  for  each  day  they  are  permitted  to  use  it. "     At 


52  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

this  distant  period,  we  should  not  he  hasty  in  forming  our 
judgments  of  the  character  of  this  measure.  Such  a  rule, 
were  it  now  adopted,  would  hring  down  upon  the  Board  tho 
charge  of  heing  intolerant  higots.  Yet,  without  any  want  of 
Christian  liberality,  these  good  men  of  those  days  might  have 
found  it  necessary  to  protect  the  Academy  from  Sectarian 
attempts  at  forward  and  impudent  intrusion,  to  the  great  an- 
noyance of  the  place,  and  interruption  of  the  regular  exercises 
of  the  school.  We  know,  from  the  earlier  history  of  many 
sects,  which  are  now  not  generally  characterized  by  extrava- 
gant irregularities,  that  the  most  brazen-faced  impudence  was 
sometimes  practiced.  We  have  no  doubt  the  rule  of  the 
trustees  was,  for  those  times,  wise  and  seasonable,  and  sustained 
by  the  good  sense  and  general  approbation  of  the  community. 
Old  Mr.  Patterson  jotted  down  in  his  Diary,  for  this  period, 
"  Elisha  Macurdy  writes,  *  our  school  is  in  a  much  better  situa- 
tion than  formerly. ' "  During  the  last  three  years  of  the 
Academy,  namely,  1799,  1800,  1801,  there  was  a  class  of 
young  men  in  attendance,  that,  in  respect  to  their  solid  worth, 
and  future  distinguished  usefulness  and  influence  in  various 
walks  of  life,  were  not  exceeded  by  any  similar  number  from 
any  other  college  in  the  United  States.  The  Franklin  So- 
ciety enrolled,  during  these  years,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Clement 
Valandingham,  James  Gilleland,  James  R.  Wilson,  D.  D., 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  Gilbert  M' Master,  D.  D.,  Cincinnati, 
Ohio;  and  Messrs.  Ethan  Baldwin,  Esq.,  George  Bird,  Esq., 
Bedford,  Pa.;  Nathaniel  Giffin,  Esq.,  John  White,  M.  D., 
Abraham  Carmichael,  John  M'Donald,  Esq., Pittsburgh;  Jo- 
seph Patterson,  Esq.,  Washington  Parkinson,  Daniel  Heisler, 
Esq.,  John  Bell,  John  St.  Clair,  Anthony  Rollins,  David 
Young,  Andrew  Shannon,  David  Allerater,  Samuel  Jenkins, 
Eliezer  Jenkins,  Matthew  Williams,  and  Joseph  Dunlap. 
The  Fnilo  Society,  during  the  same  time,  claimed  the  follow- 
ing list :  The  Rev.  Messrs.  Thos.  Marquis,  Cyrus  Riggs, 
John  Harshe,  James  Boyd,  James  Scott,  Moses  Allen,  John 


THE  ACADEMY   BECOMING   A   COLLEGE.  53 

Rea,  D.  D.,  and  Abraham  Scott;  and  Messrs.  John  Cameron, 
James  Taylor,  Marcus  Haglin,  Charles  Moorland,  Isaac  Cow- 
den,  John  Purviance,  James  Blackstone,  David  Drennan, 
Crawford  White,  Robert  Gordon,  James  Wilson,  Benjamin 
Boyd,  James  Cunningham,  James  Hoge,  James  Carr,  Peter 
Ross,  Joseph  Colwell,  James  Walker,  Rev.  Thomas  Hunt, 
John  Creaton,  Benjamin  Woods,  A.  Thompson,  John  Van- 
dyke, James  Veset,  William  M'Milian,  Jr.,  Rev.  Messrs.  Al- 
exander Murray,  and  James  Culbertson,  D.  D.,  Jared  Smith, 
and  Josiah  Scott.  These  names  have  not  always  the  proper 
designation  attached  to  them.  For  instance,  Andrew  Shan- 
non, James  Cunningham,  and  James  Hoge,  we  think  were 
ministers  of  the  gospel;  the  last,  the  Rev.  James  Hoge,  D.  D., 
of  Columbus,  Ohio,  the  Presbyterian  Apostle  of  Ohio,  who, 
though  he  did  not  graduate  at  Canonsburg,  but  perhaps  at 
Hampden  Sidney  College,  in  Virginia,  was  a  student,  for 
some  time,  at  Jefferson  College.  Several  of  the  above  named 
persons  became  eminent,  in  various  professional  and  civil  sta- 
tions. Jefferson  College,  in  her  palmiest  days  in  after  years, 
need  never  be  ashamed  of  her  Academical  history.  We  have 
thought  the  introduction  of  these  names  of  students  of  the 
old  Academy  would  be  interesting  to  many,  especially  as  but 
few  of  them  occur  in  the  College  catalogue,  (which  will  be 
found  in  our  Appendix,)  as  that  catalogue  begins  with  the 
date  of  the  Institution  when  it  became  a  College. 

We  have  now  reached  a  very  important  era  in  the  history 
of  this  Institution.  It  was  about  to  emerge  from  its  crysalis 
state.  It  was  about  to  assume  the  loftier  name,  and  more 
commanding  position  of  a  College.  It  had,  indeed,  passed 
through  an  important  change  in  1798.  Amendments  to  its 
constitution,  affecting  considerable  changes,  were  secured  by 
a  new  charter.  The  trustees  were  no  longer,  under  the  new 
charter,  elected  annually,  but  for  life ;  and  when  vacancies 
occurred  by  death  or  otherwise,  the  corporate  trustees  elected 
pthers  to  supply  the  vacancy.  In  other  words,  it  became  a 
5* 


54  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

close  corporation.  The  number  of  trustees  then  amounted  to 
twenty-one.  Of  these  we  find  that  thirteen  were  clergymen, 
and  eight,  laymen,  although  there  was  no  provision  in  the 
constitution  designating  the  proportion,  as  was  afterwards 
the  case  in  the  College  charter.  *  An  application,  it  will  be 
remembered,  had  been  made  by  the  Trustees  to  the  Legisla- 
ture, in  1796,  that  if  they  were  about  to  establish  a  college 
west  of  the  mountains,  as  they,  the  trustees,  understood  such 
a  law  was  in  forwardness,  the  previous  year,  for  that  purpose, 
they,  the  Legislature,  would  have  due  regard  to  the  claims  of 
Canonsburg,  as  a  convenient  place,  and  possessing  other  local 
advantages,  &c.  But  it  has  been  seen  that  this  movement 
failed.'  They  now  resumed  under  better  auspices,  their  efforts 
with  the  Legislature,  to  get  a  charter  for  a  college.  Accord- 
ingly, an  Act  was  passed,  January  15,  1802,  establishing  a 
college  at  Canonsburg,  to  be  called  Jefferson  College.  Who 
had  given  it  this  name,  whether  the  Trustees,  in  their  petition, 
or  whether  the  Legislature,  as  some  have  supposed,  is  not 
clearly  ascertained.  The  memorial  to  the  Legislature  is  not 
on  record.  Nor  have  we  access  to  the  Journal  and  papers  on 
file,  of  the  Legislature  at  Harrisburg.  "j"  But  it  is  immaterial. 
It  may  have  been  deemed  a  highly  politic  measure  to  secure 
the  success  of  the  petition,  with  that  Democratic  Assembly, 
and  also  to  render  their  college  popular  throughout  the  West. 
No  name  was  more  respected  by  the  great  body  of  the  people 
in  Western  Pennsylvania,  than  the  name  of  Mr.  Jefferson. 


•  The  following  are  the  names  of  those  venerable  men  who  were  Trustoes 
of  the  Academy  from  1798  to  1802  :  The  Rev.  Messrs.  James  Power,  James 
Dunlap,  Join  M'Pherrin,  David  Smith,  William  Swan,  John  Smith,  John 
Riddle,  Joseph  Patterson,  Thos.  Marquis,  James  Hughs,  Boyd  Mercer, 
Thos.  Moor,  Samuel  Ralston,  Wm.  Findley,  Esq.,  John  Wright,  Esq.,  Robert 
Galbraitb,  Esq.,  James  Edgar,  John  M'Dowell,  James  Allison,  John  Canon, 
and  Craig  Ritchie. 

f  An  unavailing  search  on  this  point  has  been  made  at  Harrisburg. 


THE  ACADEMY  BECOMING  A  COLLEGE.        55 

He  had  been  inducted  into  the  office  of  President  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  in  March,  1801.  His  administration,  for  some 
time,  was  like  a  continued  ovation.  The  party  who  had  tri- 
umphantly borne  him  forward  to  this  high  station,  were  in 
the  utmost  state  of  exultation.  To  call  this  first  college  in 
the  West,  this  first  seat  of  science  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, after  this  idol  of  the  people,  would  be  thought,  on 
all  sides,  most  felicitous.  It  might  have  been  sincerely 
thought  by  the  Trustees  a  compliment  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  which 
he  deserved.  Possibly  William  Findley,  Esq.,  who  then  rep- 
resented a  large  portion  of  Western  Pennsylvania  in  Congress, 
a  Trustee  of  the  Academy,  and  a  warm  political  partizan  of 
Mr.  Jefferson,  may  have  led  the  Trustees  to  adopt  this  name ; 
and  may  have  suggested  that  a  douceur  might  be  given  by 
Mr.  Jefferson  for  the  compliment,  or  he  might  help  them  by 
testamentary  provision.  G-en.  Washington  had,  only  a  year 
or  two  before,  left  by  his  will  a  noble  bequest,  in  James  River 
stocks,  to  Washington  Academy,  in  Virginia,  that  very  insti- 
tution that  had  sprung  from  the  action  of  the  Synod  of  Vir- 
ginia, when  the  Synod  took  measures  to  found  two  seminaries, 
one  in  Rockbridge  county,  Virginia,  and  the  other  in  Wash- 
ington county,  Pennsylvania.  What  so  proper,  in  every  way, 
as  that  the  Institution  which  had,  in  a  great  measure,  owed 
its  earlier  life  to  the  action  of  the  Synod,  should  become  Jef- 
ferson College,  now  that  the  other  school  of  the  Synod  had 
taken  the  name  of  Washington  ?  When  we  take  into  view 
all  the  circumstances  we  have  now  mentioned,  we  are  not  sur- 
prised that  this  old  Presbyterian  Institution  should  take  the 
name  of  the  man  who,  to  the  day  of  his  death,  disliked  Vir- 
ginia Presbyterians,  and  apprehended  their  opposition  to  his 
Virginia  University,  (the  child  and  the  glory  of  his  old  age,) 
more  than  all  other  sources  of  annoyance,  to  his  plans  of 
building  up  a  great  seat  of  science,  where  Christianity  should 
be  ignored.  This  apprehension  from  Presbyterian  opposition 
to  his  schemes  he   acknowledged  to  his  infidel  friend,  Dr. 


56  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

Cooper,  of  South  Carolina.  *  Dr.  Brown,  in  his  unpublished 
"  Life  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  "  thus  remarks  about  the  name  of 
our  college  :  "  It  has  been  a  matter  of  surprise  and  regret, 
that  an  institution,  founded  in  piety  and  prayer,  and  profess- 
edly designed  to  be  devoted  to  religion,  should  bear  the  name 


*  But  even  if  Mr.  Jefferson's  religious  views  were  objectionable,  his  ser- 
vices to  his  country,  unsurpassed  by  any  other,  except  Washington,  his 
authorship  of  the  "  Declaration  of  Independence, "  and  of  the  Virginia 
''Bill  of  Rights,"  his  efforts  in  the  cause  of  unrestricted  toleration,  his  per- 
severing efforts  to  overthrow  every  vestige  of  religious  establishments,  his 
sympathy  for  suffering  humanity,  his  contempt  for,  and  internecine  war 
against  all  privileged  orders  and  aristocratical  distinctions  of  society,  and 
especially  his  opposition  to  the  unrighteous  excise  laws  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment, which  had  produced  so  much  misery  and  disaster  in  Western  Penn- 
sylvania, seemed  really  to  entitle  him  to  the  compliment  of  having  the  first 
college  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  called  by  his  name.  Again,  if  ho 
was  the  author  and  originator  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  establishing  the 
North-Western  Territory,  as  has  been  affirmed,  even  for  this  one  service  to 
his  country,  and  especially  to  the  West,  he  desorved  to  have  his  name 
stamped  indelibly  on  the  first  seat  of  science  west  of  the  mountains.  The 
following  statement  will  be  found  in  the  New  York  Observer,  June  28, 1855, 
headed 

DID     JEFFERSON     DIE     AN     INFIDEL? 

"  Your  last  issue  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Congress  of  '54,  dis- 
tributed three  hundred  copies  of  the  works  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  among  sev- 
eral colleges  and  other  literary  institutions  ;  and  that  these  works  contain 
infidel  sentiments.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  author  of  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence  should  have  ever  entertained  or  published  'infidel 
sentiments.'  Wo  cannot  deny  the  fact.  He  so  identified  himself  with  infi- 
delity, while  he  held  exalted  positions — and  his  expressed  opinions  to  the 
world  were  such,  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  the  fact,  that  the  Patriot,  Scholar, 
and  Statesman,  was  at  one  time  an  avowed  infidel.  But  there  is  one  little 
circumstance  in  the  history  of  Jefferson,  which  I  do  not  think  is  generally 
known.  It  is  this: — In  his  old  age,  when  he  had  retired  to  the  quiet  scenes 
of  Monticello,  he  visited  one  Sabbath,  a  country  church  ;  it  happened  to  be 
communion  day,  and  when  the  invitation  was  given  to  the  communicants  to 
come  forward  and  partake  of  the  sacred  elements,  this  man,  who  had  givon 
the  influence  of  his  high  name  towards  extinguishing  the  light  of  Christi- 
anity, and  obliterating  the  hope  of  the  world  ; — this  man  came  humbly  for- 
ward, and  meekly  kneeling  at  the  altar,  received  those  precious   remem- 


THE   ACADEMY   BECOMING  A   COLLEGE.  57 

of  one,  who,  though  distinguished  and  honored  justly,  as  a 
philosopher  and  statesman,  an  advocate  of  the  principles  of 
liberty,  yet  must  be  acknowledged  to  have  been  an  infidel,  a 
deist,  if  not  an  atheist,  and  a  bitter  opposer  of  the  Christian 
religion.  It  must,  however,  be  recollected  that  the  principles 
of  Mr.  Jefferson,  at  that  time,  were  not  fully  developed,  as 
afterwards.  Occasional  rumors,  respecting  his  opposition  to 
religion,  were  disbelieved  and  denied.  It  cannot  otherwise 
be  supposed  that  these  Trustees  and  conductors  of  the  Insti- 
tution would  have  consented  to  such  a  name. "  But  it  is  a 
matter  of  small  account.  "  Be  minimis  non  curat  lex. " 
"  A  rose,  by  any  other  name,  would  smell  as  sweet.  "     One 


brances  of  the  death  of  Christ,  which  afford  so  much  comfort  to  believers.  It 
is  something  wrested  from  the  powers  of  darkness  to  know  that  a  man  of  Jeffer- 
son's mind  and  firmness  of  character,  should  respond  to  an  invitation  like 
the  following : 

"  'Ye  that  do  truly  and  earnestly  repent  of  your  sins,  and  are  in  love  and 
charity  with  your  neighbors,  and  intend  to  lead  a  new  life,  following  the 
commandments  of  God,  and  walking  from  henceforth  in  his  holy  ways  ; 
draw  near  with  faith,  and  take  this  holy  sacrament  to  your  comfort;  and 
make  your  humble  confession  to  Almighty  God,  meekly  kneeling  upon  your 


"I  have  this  fact  from  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  now 
over  three-score  years  of  age,  who  was  born,  raised,  and  spent  the  greater 
portion  of  his  life  in  Virginia.  If  my  recollection  of  our  interview  is  cor- 
rect, he  received  the  account  from  the  servant  of  Christ  who  administered 
the  sacrament. 

"  Some  of  Jefferson's  old  manuscripts  were  published,  I  believe,  after  his 
decease,  by  an  infidel  relative.  Is  there  not  some  reason  to  believe  that  he 
would  havo  retracted  them  publicly,  had  he  lived  a  little  longer? 

"J.  W".  K. 

"  Hackensaclc,  N.  J.,  June  16,  1855." 

"We  have  no  confidence  in  this  whole  story ;  and  are  very  sure  it  would 
not  only  be  discredited  in  Charlottesville,  but  would  be  regarded  as  reflecting 
no  honor  upon  the  character  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  who,  however  much  he  admired 
Voltaire,  and  had  his  bust  in  full  view  of  his  dying  eyes,  would  not  have 
imitated  him  in  receiving  the  sacrament.  But  wo  give  the  account  for  what 
it  is  worth,  unwilling  to  withhold  anything  that  may  be  alleged  in  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson's behalf. 


58  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

of  the  names  of  Hampden  Sidney  College,  a  thorough  Pres- 
byterian school,  is  the  name  of  an  infidel,  if  we  may  rely  on 
the  testimony  of  Bishop  Burnet.  One  of  our  Western  col- 
leges is  called  after  Franklin,  and  he  was  hardly  a  Christian, 
though  we  would  not  call  him  an  infidel. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  that  were  recognized  in  the  charter 
of  the  College  consisted  of  the  following  persons  :  The  Rev. 
Messrs.  John  M'Millan,  Joseph  Patterson,  Thos.  Marquis, 
Samuel  Ralston,  John  Black,  James  Power,  James  Dunlap, 
John  M'Pherrin  ;  and  Messrs.  James  Edgar,  John  M'Daniel, 
James  Allison,  William  Findley,  Craig  Ritchie,  John  Ham- 
ilton, Joseph  Vance,  Robert  Mahon,  James  Kerr,  Aaron 
Leyle;  Alexander  Cook,  John  Mercer,  and  William  Hughes. 
In  the  original  charter  eleven  constituted  a  quorum ;  after- 
wards the  number  was  reduced  to  seven.  A  large  majority 
of  them  met  on  the  27th  of  April,  1802,  and  continued  in 
session,  with  the  usual  adjournments,  for  three  days.  Before 
they  entered  upon  business,  they  took  the  oath  prescribed  by 
the  Act •  which  is  in  the  following  form:  "You  and  each 
of  you  do  solemnly  swear,  that  you  will  support  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  of  this  State, 
and  that  you  will,  with  fidelity,  perform  the  duties  of  a  trus- 
tee of  Jefferson  College.  "  *  Judge  Edgar,  being  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  court  for  Washington  count}7,  administered  the 
oath  to  the  trustees,  who  were  present,  and  then  Judge  Vance 
administered  the  oath  to  him.  Dr.  M'Millan  was  chosen 
President  of  the  Board,  and  Craig  Ritchie,  Esq.,  Clerk. 
Messrs.  Dunlap,  M'Pherrin,  and  Ralston,  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  arrange  the  number  of  classes  which  should  be 
in  the  College,  and  the  studies  proper  for  each  class  •  and  to 
report  the  following  day.  Accordingly,  their  report  was 
received,  and,  after  debate,  and  some  alterations,  was  adopted. 


*  No  Old  Side  Covenanter  or  Reformed  Presbyterian  could  take  that  oath, 
though  the  students  of  that  body  have  generally  gone  to  this  college. 


THE  ACADEMY   BECOMING   A   COLLEGE.  59 

The  following  is  the  substance  of  it :  "  The  Faculty  shall 
consist  of  1st.,  a  President  or  Principal,  who  is  also  to  be 
Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy,  Rhetoric,  Logic,  &c.  2d.  A 
Professor  of  Divinity.  3d.  A  Professor  of  Mathematics  and 
Natural  Philosophy.  4th.  That  the  Languages  shall  be 
taught,  as  hitherto,  by  the  Professor.  5th.  That  the  Mathe- 
matics be  taught,  till  the  Fall,  in  the  manner  hitherto,  in  the 
Academy,  by  the  Professor.  6th.  That  the  Professor  of 
Moral  Philosophy,  teach  all  who  would  wish  to  apply  to  it, 
Logic,  Rhetoric,  Geography,  &c.  7th.  That,  in  the  Fall,  all 
who,  by  attending  through  the  session  on  the  Institution, 
shall  sustain  an  examination  on  the  Languages,  Geography, 
Mathematics,  Natural  and  Moral  Philosophy,  Rhetoric,  Logic, 
Metaphysics,  Roman  and  Greek  Antiquities,  and  History, 
shall  receive  a  degree.  8th.  That  the  Rules  and  Regulations 
hitherto  adopted  for  the  good  conduct  of  the  students  in  the 
Academy,  shall  be  continued  in  force  till  Fall.  9th.  That 
each  student  shall  pay  his  tuition  a  quarter  in  advance. " 
The  Trustees  further  agreed  that  they  would  now  mention 
what  classes  they  designed  to  constitute,  and  the  studies  of 
each  ;  so  that  the  students  may,  through  the  Summer,  be 
making  preparation  for  the  class  into  which  they  design  to 
enter.  They  also  determined  to  support  a  Grammar  School, 
or  Preparatory  Department,  in  which  the  usual  elementary 
books  in  the  Languages  were  to  be  used;  and  also  Arithme- 
tic, Composition,  English  Grammar,  and  speaking  Orations 
were  to  be  attended  to.  They  prohibited  the  use  of  transla- 
tions of  the  Classics.  They  adopted  a  general  plan  of  three 
classes.  The  first  class  were  to  read  Horace,  Cicero's  Ora- 
tions, Xenophon,  Homer,  Longinus,  together  with  the  study 
of  Greek,  and  Roman  Antiquities,  Geography,  and  some  parts 
of  Algebra.  The  second  class,  to  be  styled  the  Mathematical 
Class,  were  to  finish  Algebra,  and  study  Euclid's  Elements, 
Practical  Geometry,  Natural  Philosophy,  Rhetoric  and  Lec- 
tures on  History.     The  third  class,  to  be  styled  the  Philo- 


60  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

sophical  Class,  were  to  study  Logic,  Moral  Philosophy,  and 
Metaphysics,  and  a  careful  Review  of  the  Languages,  and  of 
the  aforementioned  arts  and  sciences.  A  strict  attention  to 
Composition  and  to  speaking  Orations  was  to  be  given  by  the 
students,  in  all  the  classes.  Two  years'  connection  with  the 
College,  and  a  sustained  examination  on  all  the  above  studies, 
were  made  the  condition  of  a  Diploma. 

The  Board  then  elected  by  ballot,  the  Rev.  John  Watson 
as  Principal,  and  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy ;  Dr.  M' Mil- 
Ian,  as  Professor  of  Divinity,  and  Mr.  Samuel  Miller,  Profes- 
sor of  Mathematics,  Natural  Philosophy,  and  Geography. 

As  Dr.  M'Millan  could  not  remain  a  trustee,  and  at  the 
same  time  become  a  member  of  the  faculty,  he  resigned  his 
seat  in  the  Board,  and  Judge  Edgar  was  chosen  President  of 
the  Board  in  his  place.  President  Watson  was  also  appointed 
Professor  of  Languages,  and  he  and  Judge  M'Dowell  were 
appointed  to  prepare  a  system  of  laws  and  regulations  for  the 
College,  and  report  them  at  the  next  meeting.  The  Board 
ordered  a  College  seal  to  be  prepared,  with  a  device  of  "a 
figure  of  a  Principal  presenting  a  Diploma  to  a  student,  Jef- 
ferson College  in  Latin,  round  the  bottom,  and  this  motto, 
'  Deo  juvante  omnia possumus,'  round  the  top;"  to  be  ready 
by  next  commencement. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  M'Millan  was  appointed  Principal  during  the 
absence  of  Mr.  Watson.  Mr.  Watson's  salary  was  fixed  at 
£150,  he  to  provide  his  Tutors  at  his  own  expense.  Professor 
Miller's  salary  was  £100.  The  Rev.  Thos.  Moore  was  elected 
a  trustee  in  place  of  Dr.  M'Millan. 

The  College  now  commenced  its  new  and  brilliant  career. 
Great  expectations  were  excited,  especially  under  the  antici- 
pated administration  of  that  extraordinary  son  of  genius,  the 
Rev.  John  Watson.  But  these  anticipations  were  soon  to 
meet  with  a  sad  disappointment,  occasioned  by  the  early  death 
of  that  gifted  man.  He  did  not  live  more  than  three  or  four 
months  after  he  regularly  entered  upon  his  work.     His  death 


THE  ACADEMY   BECOMING   A   COLLEGE.  61 

occurred  November  30th,  1802.  This  mournful  event  threw 
a  sombre  hue  over  the  rising  prospects  of  Jefferson  College. 
It  was  a  heavy  affliction  to  the  students,  the  trustees,  and  the 
citizens,  and  especially  to  his  venerable  father-in-law,  Dr. 
M'Millan.  * 

"Quis  strepitus  circa  comitum! 
Sed  nox  atra  caput  tristi  circumvolat  umbra. 
Ostendunt  terris  hunc  tantum  fata,  neque  ultra 
Esse  sinent.  " 


*  Tho  Rev.  John  Watson  was  a  native  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  descended 
from  poor,  but  respectable  parents,  both  of  -whom  died  when  he  was  about 
nine  years  of  age,  leaving  him  a  helpless  and  dependent  orphan..  A  friend 
of  his  father's,  who  kept  a  tavern  and  a  retail  store,  received  him  into  his 
family,  and  with  a  view  to  make  him  useful  to  him  in  his  business,  instructed 
him  in  writing  and  arithmetic.  He  early  discovered  a  fondness  for  reading, 
and  sought  to  indulge  his  tastes  by  a  perusal  of  every  book  within  his  reach. 
As  the  lady  of  tho  house  was  a  novel  reader,  and  had  many  of  this  sort  of 
books,  she  was  obliged  to  keep  her  book  case  locked  to  prevent  his  access  to 
them.  When  he  was  about  eleven  or  twelve  years  of  age,  a  copy  of  the  Spec- 
tator fell  into  his  hands,  which  he  read  with  great  delight.  The  Latin  sen- 
tences profixed  to  the  various  numbers  gave  him  much  trouble,  and  excited 
within  him  an  earnest  desire  to  become  acquainted  with  that  language.  The 
only  means  within  his  reach  of  attaining  his  object,  was  a  copy  of  Horace, 
and  an  old  mutilated  Latin  Dictionary.  AVith  these,  however,  he  went  to 
work,  and  by  dint  of  application,  and  without  a  teacher  or  a  grammar,  he 
acquired  considerable  knowledge  of  that  difficult  author.  Many  of  the  hours 
which  others  gave  to  sleep,  he  devoted  to  study.  One  night,  the  late  Judge 
Addison,  who  lodged  at  the  same  hotel,  upon  returning  to  his  lodgings  at  a 
late  hour,  after  the  family  had  retired  to  rest,  found  young  Watson  diligently 
engaged  in  reading  Horace,  by  the  light  of  the  fire.  Being  much  pleased 
and  interested  with  the  lad,  Addison  promised  him  that,  on  his  return,  at  tho 
next  term  of  the  court,  he  would  furnish  him  with  more  suitable  books  for 
the  attainment  of  a  knowledge  of  the  Latin.  This  promise  was  not  forgot- 
ten by  the  Judge,  but  at  the  timo  fixed  upon,  he  carried  with  him  the  books, 
and  delivered  them  into  the  hands  of  his  young  acquaintance,  who  had  been 
looking  for  them  with  much  impatience.  His  pleasure  on  receiving  them 
was  very  great.  "Never,"  said  he,  "did  I  experience  a  more  joyful 
moment. "  His  studies  being  now  greatly  facilitated,  he  made  rapid  pro- 
gress.   Although  he  continued  his  labors  at  the  counter  and  in  the  bar-room, 

6 


62  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

Yet  the  College,  during  its  first  session,  in  1802,  made  a 
very  auspicious  beginning  of  its  future  glorious  course.  The 
students  were,  with  few  exceptions,  young  men  of  great  prom- 
ise, who,  in  after  life,  were  eminently  useful  and  successful 
men.  There  were  some  who  were  alumni,  during  the  previ- 
ous year,  and  part  of  the  present  year,  though  they  did  not 
graduate  *  at  Jefferson  College.  Among  these  may  be  men- 
tioned the  Rev.  John  Johnston,  of  Newburg,  New  York,  a 
man  of  great  worth  and  eminent  usefulness,  who  has  long 
occupied  a  high  place  among  his  brethren  of  that  State.  Also 
the  Rev.  Dr.  James  Hoge,  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  the   Apostle 

he  employed  every  leisure  moment  in  the  study  of  the  classics,  and  finally 
became  an  accomplished  Latin  and  Greek  scholar.  When  nineteen  years 
of  age,  through  the  influence  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  who  had  become  acquainted 
with  him,  he  was  appointed  Tutor  in  Canonsburg  Academy,  in  which  situa- 
tion he  remained  about  eighteen  months.  At  the  expiration  of  that  period, 
he  entered  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  where  he  was  sustained  in  part  by 
Dr.  M'Millan,  and  where  he  was  graduated,  A.  D.  1797.  He  studied  the- 
ology with  Dr.  M'Millan,  and  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  at 
Cross  Creek,  October  17,  1798,  and  ordained  at  Miller's  Run,  June  26,  1800. 
He  was  elected  President  of  Jefferson  College,  August  29,  1802,  and  was 
the  first  President  under  the  charter.  He  died  November  30th,  1802,  only 
three  months  after  his  accession  to  the  Presidency.  He  was  married  to  Mar- 
garet, the  second  daughter  of  Dr.  M'Millan.  By  a  remarkable  coincidence, 
he  and  the  Rev.  Win.  Moorehead  were  married  to  sisters,  by  their  father-in- 
law,  on  the  same  day,  took  sick  on  the  same  day,  died  on  the  same  day,  and 
were  buried  in  the  same  grave,  in  the  burying  ground  belonging  to  the  con- 
gregation of  Chartiers.  Mr.  Watson  was  a  man  of  unusual  endowments. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Rea,  one  of  his  pupils,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for 
most  of  these  facts,  says :  "  He  possessed  a  mind  pure,  vigorous,  and 
enlightened.  He  could  unfold  his  ideas  to  others  in  language  simple,  clear, 
forcible,  and  not  unfrequently  eloquent.  He  was  amiable  in  his  disposition, 
conciliatory  in  his  manners,  of  unblemished  morals,  and  real,  unaffected 
piety.  He  was  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  beloved  by  all  his  stu- 
dents, by  many  of  whom  he  will  be  cherished  in  remembrance  as  long  as 
memory  remains." — Dr.  Elliott's  Life  of  Macurdy,  App.  p.  281.  See  also 
Chapter  8,  of  this  book,  for  Dr.  Broicn's  Sketch  of  Mr.  Watson. 

*This  mode  of  expression,  and  not  "was  graduated,"  we  find  now 
adopted  by  the  Foreign  Reviews,  and  good  writers  in  our  own  country. 


THE  ACADEMY   BECOMING   A   COLLEGE.  63 

of  Presbyterianisui  in  that  State — a  man  of  giant  intellect 
and  ardent  piety,  whose  services  in  the  cause  of  religion  and 
humanity,  have  rendered  his  name  familiar  in  every  part  of 
our  land.  At  the  Fall  Commencement,  Wm.  M'Millau, 
(afterwards  the  Rev.  Wm.  M'Millan,  D.  B.,  Ex-President 
of  Jefferson  College,  and  afterwards  of  Franklin  College, 
Ohio,)  Israel  Pickens,  (afterwards  a  distinguished  lawyer  and 
member  of  Congress,  in  the  South,  and  Governorof  Alabama,) 
Johnson  Eaton,  (afterwards  the  Rev.  Johnson  Eaton,  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  Presbyterianism  in  North- Western  Pennsyl- 
vania,) John  Rea,  an  eminent  minister  of  the  gospel  in  Ohio, 
in  after  life,  and  Rev.  Bracken,  afterwards,  through  a  long 
life,  a  useful  Presbyterian  minister,  graduated,  receiving  their 
diplomas  of  A.  B. 

The  Board,  at  their  Fall  meeting,  elected  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Porter,  and  James  Allison,  Esq.,  as  trustees,  in  place  of  the 
Rev.  John  Black,  deceased,  and  Mr.  A.  Cooke,  resigned.  No 
other  record  is  made  of  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Black, 
but  simply  this  incidental  mention  of  Mr.  Porter,  as  elected 
to  supply  his  place.  As  he  was  the  first  Trustee  of  the  Col- 
lege that  died,  and  as  he  was  a  man  every  way  wortby  of  some 
notice,  we  will  refer  the  reader  to  some  further  account  of 
him  in  the  Appendix  to  Dr.   Elliott's  Life  of  Macurdy.  * 


•s  "The7?ci\  John  Black  wasanative  of  South  Carolina,  and  was  graduated 
at  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  in  September,  1771,  having  entered  the  Junior 
Class  half-advanced  in  May  of  the  preceding  year.  He  was  licensed  to 
preach  the  gospel  by  the  Presbytery  of  Donegal,  October  14th,  1773,  and  on 
the  22d  of  June,  177-4,  a  call  was  presented  to  Presbytery  for  his  minis- 
terial labors,  from  the  congregation  of  Upper  Marsh  Creek,  in  York  county. 
The  next  Fall,  a  call  was  prepared  for  him  by  the  united  congregations  of 
Shearman's  Valley,  which  he  subsequently  declined,  when  presented.  Hav- 
ing accepted  the  call  from  Upper  Marsh  Creek,  he  was  ordained  and  installed 
the  pastor  of  that  church,  August  15,  1775.  In  17S6,  he  was  set  off,  with 
others,  to  form  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle. 

"  Some  difficulties  having  arisen  in  his  congregation,  he  applied  to  the 
Presbytery,  on  the  10th  of  April,  1792,  to  have  the  pastoral  relation  dissolved. 


64  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

The  Trustees  proceeded  to  draw  up  and  adopt  a  set  of  rules 
and  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  College.  But  as 
they  are  not  materially  different  from  those  usually  in  force 
in  public  Institutions,  we  will  not  here  transcribe  them.  We 
observe,  under  the  chapter  "  of  Dress, "  it  is  recommended  to 
the  students  to  be  plain  in  their  dress,  but  it  is  required  of  them 
always  to  appear  neat,  and  cleanly ;  and  for  any  gross  defi- 
ciency in  this  respect,  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the  College 
officers  to  admonish  them.  It  was  also  recommended  to  every 
student  of  the  college  to  possess  a  "Black  Gown, "  agreeably 


The  Presbytery,  after  taking  the  necessary  steps  to  have  the  congregation 
before  them  at  their  next  meeting,  adjourned  to  meet  at  Upper  Marsh  Creek 
on  the  Cth  day  of  June  following.  At  that  meeting,  the  parties  were  present, 
and  after  some  conference  between  them,  Mr.  Black  informed  the  Presbytery 
that  'he  had  obtained  such  satisfaction  as  induced  him  to  ask  permission  to 
withdraw  his  application  for  leave  to  resign  his  pastoral  charge. '  This 
request,  the  Presbytery  'most  cordially  granted. '  On  the  5th  of  December, 
1793,  however,  he  renewed  his  application  to  be  released  from  his  pastoral 
charge,  which  was  granted  at  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Presbytery,  on 
the  10th  of  April,  1794. 

"  From  the  time  of  his  dismission  from  his  pastoral  charge,  until  tho  year 
1800,  he  exorcised  his  ministry  chiefly  in  a  congregation  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church,  near  to  Hunterstown,  in  Adams  county.  His  labors  to 
them  were  very  acceptable  and  useful,  and  he  ha3  been  heard  to  say,  that 
among  that  plain  people,  he  experienced  more  pleasure,  as  a  pastor,  than  in 
any  former  part  of  his  ministry.  He  there  found  a  docility — freedom  ol 
spiritual  communion,  and  confiding  attachment,  by  which  they  were  greatly 
endeared  to  him.  With  the  reasons  which  induced  him  to  leave  them  and 
remove  to  the  West,  we  are  not  acquainted.  But  on  tho  9th  of  October, 
1800,  ho  obtained  a  dismission  from  Carlisle  Presbytery  to  connect  himself 
with  that  of  Redstone.  With  this  latter  Presbytery  he  was  present  as  a 
corresponding  member  on  the  21st  of  that  same  month,  and  upon  the  appli- 
cation of  commissioners  from  the  congregations  of  Unity  and  Greensburg, 
in  which  tho  Rev.  William  Speer  afterwards  settled,  was  appointed  a  stated 
supply  to  these  congregations.  Ho  was,  moreover,  received  as  a  membor  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Redstone  on  the  24th  of  December,  and  continued  as  a 
stated  supply  to  the  congregations  above  named,  until  April  22d,  1802;  when 
he  declined  serving  them  any  longer,  and  obtained  leavo  to  travel  without 
the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery.     It  was  but  a  short  time,  howover,  until  he 


THE   ACADEMY  BECOMING   A   COLLEGE.  65 

to  a  fashion  prescribed  by  the  faculty ;  and  to  make  his 
appearance  no  where  under  two  miles  distant  from  the  college 
without  his  gown.  We  have  never  heard  whether  this  recom- 
mendation was  attended  to  or  not.  We  know,  if  it  was,  it 
fell  early  into  entire  neglect,  and  has,  we  believe,  never  been 
revived.  The  rules  requiring  and  enforcing  morals,  and 
attendance  upon  religious  worship,  were  strict,  and  were,  no 
doubt,  enforced.  The  punishments  were  wholly  of  a  moral 
kind,  addressed  to  the  sense  of  duty,  and  the  principles  of 
honor  and  shame.  There  were  stringent  rules  also  against 
wearing  women's  clothes.  How  the  modern  fashion  of  shawls, 
now  worn  b\  many  gentlemen,  would  have  fared  at  Jefferson 
College,  in  those  days,  may  be  conjectured.  The  laws  were 
severe  also  against  secret  clubs  and  combinations,  &c,  and 
against  any  annoyance  to  the  people  of  the  town,  either  as  to 
their  persons  or  their  property. 

In  the  Spring  of  1803,  the  Board  elected  the  Rev.  James 
Dunlap  as  Principal  of  the  College,  and  successor  of  Mr. 
Watson,  promising  him  £140  per  annum,  finding  him  also  a 
house  and  garden,  and  he  finding  his  own  Tutors.  And  as 
Mr.  Dunlap  was  thus  removed  from  the  Board  to  the  Faculty, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Riddle,  of  the  Associate  Reformed  church,  was 
elected  a  trustee  in  his  place. 


was  called  to  his  final  reward.  He  died,  August  16, 1802,  in  the  triumphant 
exercise  of  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  On  his  death-bed,  he  requested 
his  friends  to  sing  the  17th  Psalui,  long  metre,  in  Watts'  version,  '  Lord,  I 
am  thine, '  &c.  While  they  were  engaged  in  this  exercise,  he  united  with 
them  in  a  manner  which  showed  how  fully  his  feelings  were  in  harmony 
with  the  sentiments  contained  in  this  beautiful  psalm. 

"  He  was  a  man  of  a  high  order  of  talent,  an  able  disputant,  and  fond  of 
metaphysical  disquisitions.  He  published  a  discourse  in  favor  of  a  New 
Testament  Psalmody  and  in  reply  to  the  Rev.  D/.  Anderson,  of  tbe  Asso- 
ciate Church,  which  is  said  to  have  been  written  w|th  much  ability. 

"  The  Rev.  John  Black,  D.  D.,  deceased,  late  pustor  of  the  Fifth  Presby- 
terian Church,  (N.  S.)  Pittsburgh,  who  died  in  Al&gheny  city,  February  13, 
1847,  was  his  grandson. " — Appendix  to  Elliott? '«■  Life  of  Macurdy,  p.  266. 

6* 


66  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

At  their  Fall  meeting,  in  1803,  the  Board  passed  an  order 
"  That  any  Trustee,  upon  his  request,  shall  have  any  subscrip- 
tion paper,  upon  which  he  has  collected  money,  inserted  upon 
the  Minutes  of  the  Board,  the  names  and  sums  collected." 
This  seems  to  us  to  have  been  wise  and  right ;  but  we  are 
sorry  to  add  that  it  was  not  of  any  avail.  Had  it  been  duly 
attended  to,  it  would  have  been  useful,  in  affording  us  much 
curious  and  entertaining  information.  Almost  all  the  Trus- 
tees were  more  or  less  engaged,  for  many  years  after,  in  col- 
lecting funds  for  the  college  much  on  the  same  plan  with  that 
adopted  by  old  Mr.  Patterson. 

The  gi'aduates,  that  Fall,  were  Andrew  M' Donald,  Cyruh 
Riggs,  and  Alexander  Monieith,  who  all  afterwards  became 
ministers  of  the  gospel.  The  Board  also  took  measures  to 
provide  the  Faculty  with  Black  Gowns.  Whether  they  pro- 
vided a  dressing  room,  or  wardrobe,  we  know  not.  Perhaps 
these  black  gowns  were  perquisites,  which  each  member  of 
the  Faculty  claimed  as  his  own,  and  carried  off  in  triumph 
upon  resigning,  or  retiring  from  office.  Had  the  gowns 
remained  for  successors,  awkward  fits  in  garments  would  have 
sometimes  occurred;  as  when  Dr.  Muir,  of  Alexandria,  a 
small  man,  made  Dr.  Speece,  a  tall  man  of  six  feet,  before  he 
entered  his  pulpit,  assume  his  silk  gown,  which  fitted  him 
somewhat  like  a  hunting  shirt.  Students  also  were  forbidden 
at  this  time  to  board  at  taverns,  without  express  permission. 

The  FranMin  Society  enrolled,  for  this  year,  (1803,)  the 
Rev.  James  Patterson,  Washington  llobinson,  John  Marshall, 
George  Crookham,  Stephen  Dod,  Wm.  Dunlap,  John  Canon, 
Hon.  Jonathan  Jennings,  Angus  Henderson,  James  Parkin- 
son, and  Jonathan  Cox.  And  the  Philo  Society  report  for 
this  year,  Samuel  Culbertson,  Rev.  George  Vaneman,  William 
Ritchie,  James  Kerr,  Isaac  Vandyke,  John  Phillips,  Wm. 
Donaldson,  Rev.  Daniel  Stephens,  Rev.  Samuel  Porter,  James 
Galloway,  Rev.  John  Reed,  Rev.  James  Dinsmore,  and  Sim- 
kins  Harriman.     In  these  two  lists  there  were  several  more 


THE  ACADEMY   BECOMING   A   COLLEGE.  67 

ministers  than  those  designated,  and  several  eminent  physi- 
cians and  lawyers.  Indeed,  both  catalogues  need  many  amend- 
ments throughout,  to  designate  the  future  callings  of  their 
respective  members. 

The  new  President,  Dr.  Dunlap,  of  whom  some  account 
will  be  found  in  the  "  Life  of  Macurdy  "  and  "  Old  Redstone, " 
entered  upon  his  important  station  with  much  to  encourage 
him,  in  the  prospects  of  the  College.  He  had  been  long  set- 
tled as  a  pastor  in  Dunlap' s  Creek  congregation,  Fayette 
county,  to  which  place  he  had  removed  from  the  bounds  of 
the  New  Castle  Presbytery,  in  1782.  He  was  a  graduate  of 
Princeton  College,  and  had  likewise  been  employed  as  Tutor, 
for  a  short  time,  in  that  Institution.  He  also  gave  instruction 
to  a  few  young  men,  principally  such  as  had  the  ministry  in 
view,  after  his  settlement  at  Dunlap's  Creek.  His  acquain- 
tance with  the  classics  was  unusually  accurate  and  extensive, 
and  as  a  teacher  of  languages  he  excelled.  He  was  about 
sixty  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  Canonsburg.  He  contin- 
ued to  exercise  his  ministry  at  Miller's  Run,  five  or  six  miles 
from  the  College,  of  which  church  he  became  pastor.  He  was 
somewhat  recluse  in  his  habits,  of  an  amiable,  cheerful  spirit, 
but  inclined  to  despondency.  His  person  was  small,  his  fea- 
tures pleasing,  and  his  manners  popular.  His  health  was  not 
very  robust ;  but  his  conscientious  diligence  in  the  discharge^ 
of  his  duties,  secured  him  the  respect  and  affection  of  the 
Trustees  and  students.  We  may  have  occasion  to  give  some 
further  account  of  him  hereafter.  A  very  large  portion  of 
the  students,  at  that  time,  were  pious,  exemplary  youths.  A 
very  extensive  revival  of  religion,  which  had  begun  the  pre- 
vious year,  prevailed  throughout  Western  Pennsylvania,  and 
many  of  the  students  shared  in  its  blessed  influence.  They 
were  accustomed  to  go  in  considerable  numbers,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  Faculty,  to  various  places  where  communions  were 
held,  sometimes  to  the  distance  of  ten  and  even  twenty  miles. 
There  was  much  warmth  of  piety  among  them.     These  excur- 


68  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

sions,  in  order  to  attend  at  "Sacraments,"  (as  such  meetings, 
where  the  Lord's  Supper  was  usually  administered,  were  then 
commonly  called,)  the  pious  and  serious  young  men  performed 
on  foot.  Religious  conversation,  and  sometimes  singing  of 
hymns,  beguiled  the  way.  Many  and  delightful  were  the 
reminiscences  of  these  young  brethren,  through  all  their  after 
lives,  of  those  seasons  of  Christian  fellowship  and  spiritual 
enjoyment. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE   FROM   1804. 

Graduates  of  180-1 — Boss'  Latin  Grammar — Account  of  Boss — Book-case  for 
the  Societies ;  reminiscences  about  it — Graduates  of  1805  and  1806 — 
Presbyterian  and  Associate  Presbyteries  successfully  appealed  to  for  aid — 
Gen.  Hamilton's  success  at  Congress — Injunction  of  the  Board  upon  Drs. 
M'Millan  and  Dunlap — Graduates  of  1808 — First  communication  from 
Board  of  Washington  College;  result — Dr.  Ralston  chosen  President  of 
Board — Dr.  Murdoch's  Report  about  conference  with  Washington  Com- 
mittee— Graduates  of  1809 — State  of  Finances — Death  and  Character 
of  Judge  3I'Dowell — Trustees'  rule  for  order  of  procession  at  commence- 
ment— Description  of  an  "Exhibition,"  or  College  Commencement,  in 
"  old  times. " 

There  is  little  of  any  special  interest  to  relate,  in  regard  to 
the  history  of  the  College  during  this  and  the  following  year. 
The  Trustees  gave  to  President  Dunlap  the  use  and  benefit 
of  the  lot  connected  with  the  old  stone  edifice,  and  ten  pounds, 
in  addition  to  his  salary,  in  lieu  of  the  house  rent  and  garden, 
and  passed  an  order  again,  that  no  student  should  board  at  a 
tavern  ;  and  another  that  no  student  shall  continue  at  college 
who  is  two  quarters  in  arrears.  Judge  M'Dowell  was  elected 
President  of  the  Board.  The  graduates,  in  the  Fall  of  1804, 
were  Daniel  Stephens,  who  afterwards  became  an  Episcopal 
minister,  was  for  a  few  years  a  neighbor  of  the  writer,  in 
Staunton,  Virginia,  whence  he  removed  to  the  West ;  a  man 
of  quiet,  blameless  life,  and  much  esteemed  by  his  people ; 
John  31' Donald,  afterwards  a  member  of  the  Pittsburgh  bar; 
John  White,  and  Clement  Valandinyham,  a  minister  of  the 
gospel,  who  lived  and  labored  many  years  in  New  Lisbon, 
Ohio,  where  he  died,  greatly  beloved  and  regreted  by  a  people, 

(69) 


70  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

among  whom  his  ministerial  labors  had  been  eminently  suc- 
cessful. The  Board  also  elected  the  Rev.  James  Hughes, 
and  the  Rev.  William  Swann,  trustees  in  the  place  of  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  Power  and  M'Pherrin,  resigned.  The  price  of  tui- 
tion, at  this  time,  was  fixed  at  six  pounds  per  annum.  About 
this  period,  Ross'  Latin  Grammar  was  introduced.  James 
Kerr,  Esq.,  a  trustee,  who  was  also  a  representative  of  Wash- 
ington county  in  the  State  Legislature,  had  brought  out  with 
him  four  dozen  of  these  Grammars,  then  but  recently  pub- 
lished ;  and  the  Trustees  took  them  off  his  hands,  to  be  sold 
to  the  students.  It  was  then,  and  for  many  years  after,  con- 
sidered the  best  Grammar  extant,  greatly  in  advance  of  all 
its  predecessors,  as  a  useful  manual  for  boys,  beginning  the 
study  of  the  Latin  language.  Brooke's  edition  of  it,  we 
believe,  is  still  in  use.  The  author,  James  Ross,  was  a  grad- 
uate of  Princeton  College,  in  the  Fall  of  17G6 — was  a  good 
classical  scholar.  His  talents  lay  all  in  that  direction,  and 
he  became  a  prodigy  of  pedagogical  learning,  though  his 
knowledge  of  Mathematics  and  the  moral  and  metaphysical 
sciences  was  but  slender.  Like  the  celebrated  Rosseau,  he 
never  could  clearly  comprehend  some  of  the  simplest  propo- 
sitions in  Euclid,  and  it  was  with  some  difficulty  he  succeeded 
in  obtaining  a  degree  of  A.  B.,  though  he  was,  in  after  life, 
honored  with  the  title  of  LL.  D.  He  was  a  classmate  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Power,  from  whom  we  had  the  above  account. 
He  became  an  eminent  teacher  of  the  dead  languages,  *  and 
in  this  vocation  he  continued  till  he  was  advanced  in  years, 
and  old  age  disqualified  him  for  his  useful  profession.  But 
though  of  an  obtuse  mind  for  other  branches  of  learning,  he 
was  pre-eminent  as  a  linguist.  We  remember  to  have  seen 
him  when  he  was  probably  eighty  years  of  age,  at  the  first 
church  in  Philadelphia,  of  which  Dr.  Wilson  was  then  pastor. 

*  He  was,  for  many  years,  a  Professor  in  the  University  of  Philadelphia. 


HISTORY  OP  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE  FROM  1804.    71 

His  seat  was  in  the  gallery ;  and  before  him  he  had  fixed,  on 
a  little  shelf,  attached  to  the  parapet  or  breastwork  of  the  gal- 
lery, nearly  a  dozen  of  books — a  Greek  Testament,  a  Hebrew 
Bible,  Concordance,  Lexicons,  &c.  When  the  Doctor 
announced  his  text,  which  happened  to  be,  "  Come  unto  me 
all  ye  that  labor,  "  &c,  Mr.  Ross  immediately  took  his  Greek 
Testament,  turned  to  the  passage,  and  seemed  for  some  time 
to  be  earnestly  studying  it.  Such  was  the  man  who  wrote 
the  Latin  Grammar  that  was  long  used  at  Jefferson  College. 
In  the  Spring  of  1805,  the  Trustees  fixed  the  length  of  the 
vacations  at  three  weeks  in  the  Spring,  and  four  in  the  Fall. 
They  also  ordered  that  the  Principal  or  Professor  of  Divinity, 
at  every  Commencement,  should  hereafter  deliver  an  address 
to  the  graduates,  or  procure  a  clergyman  to  do  it.  Dr. 
M'Millan  was  then  elected  Vice-Principal  of  the  College. 
Messrs.  Marquis  and  Macurdy  were  authorized  to  procure 
donations  for  the  Institution.  Dr.  Samuel  Murdock  was 
elected  a  trustee,  in  place  of  the  Hon.  Wm.  Findley,  resigned  ; 
and  the  Rev.  John  Anderson,  in  place  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Riddle. 
Dr.  Dunlap's  salary  was  raised  to  two  hundred  pounds,  he  still 
finding  and  paying  his  assistant.  And,  if  we  may  note  so 
small  a  matter,  eighteen  Windsor  chairs  were  procured  for 
the  use  of  the  Board  and  Faculty.  Probably  stout  benches, 
with  straddling  legs,  served  their  turn  up  to  this  date.  The 
Literary  Societies,  at  the  Fall  meeting,  (1805,)  petitioned 
the  Board  for  charters,  and  a  place  in  the  College  building 
for  their  libraries  and  book-cases.  Whereupon  it  was  ordered, 
"  That  the  said  societies,  viz  :  Franklin  and  Philo,  be  recog- 
nized as  such,  and  that  their  respective  Constitutions,  as  they 
now  exist,  shall  be  the  Constitutions  of  said  societies ;  and 
that  a  majority  of  either  of  said  societies,  adhering  to  their 
constitutions,  shall  retain  the  original  name  of  the  respective 
society ;  and  that  the  Libraries  of  said  societies  are  hereby 
taken  under  the  care  and  patronage  of  the  Board. "  The 
Board  also  appointed  a  committee  to  procure  a  double  book- 


72  HISTORY    OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

case  for  these  societies,  to  be  placed  in  one  end  of  the  upper  apart- 
ment of  the  College.  Well  do  we  remember  that  old  Book 
Case,  and  what  we  then  regarded  its  inexhaustible  treasures 
of  wisdom  and  learning.  At  this  day  it  would  cut  rather  a 
ridiculous  figure  beside  many  a  country  minister's  library,  not 
to  speak  of  the  widely  expanded  and  groaning  shelves  of  the 
libraries  of  these  societies  now. 

The  graduates  of  the  Fall  of  1805  were  James  Wilson, 
afterwards  the  Rev.  James  Wilson,  D.  D.,  a  very  eminent 
minister  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  body  ;  John  Trevor, 
James  Wills,  James  Patterson,  afterwards  an  eminent  and 
successful  Presbyterian  minister  in  the  Northern  Liberties  of 
Philadelphia — a  man  of  great  worth  and  usefulness;  Daniel 
Ha  yd  en,  James  Scott,  Moses  Allen,  afterwards  an  excellent  and 
useful  minister,  settled  first  at  Muddy  Creek,  Green  county, 
then  at  Raccoon,  and  during  the  1-st  years  of  his  life,  at  Crab- 
apple,  Ohio, — son-in-law  of  Dr.  M'Millan  ;  Carlos  A.  Norton, 
James  Galloway,  James  M'  Conndl,  and  James  Cunningham,  a 
Presbyterian  minister,  who  died  a  few  years  ago  in  Ohio.  The 
Trustees  appointed  Messrs.  Ritchie  and  Murdoch  to  prepare 
and  forward  to  the  Legislature  a  petition  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  assistance  in  lands  and  money  ;  and  also  to  transmit 
to  Gen.  Hamilton,  then  in  Congress,  an  account  of  the  state  of 
the  College,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  him  in  soliciting  dona- 
tions. The  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  was  conferred  on  the 
Rev.  Messrs.  John  M'Millan,  Samuel  Ralston,  and  James 
Ramsey,  and  on  Dr.  Samuel  Murdoch,  and  Prof?  Samuel  Mil- 
ler. The  petition  to  the  Legislature  proved  successful.  A 
donation  of  three  thousand  dollars  to  the  College  was  the  result. 
The  Trustees  met,  March  27,  1806,  in  order  to  dispose  of  this 
pecuniary  aid  to  their  funds,  and  passed  an  order  to  lend  the 
money  to  individuals,  in  sums  not  less  than  $'200,  nor  more 
than  $600,  to  any  one  person,  and  appointed  Messrs.  Allison, 
Ritchie  and  Murdock,  a  committee  for  this  purpose.  At  their 
April  meeting,  Judge  M'Dowell  was  again  elected  President 


HISTORY  OP  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE  FROM  1804.    73 

of  the  Board,  Dr.  Samuel  Murdock,  Secretary,  Craig  Ritchie, 
Esq.,  Treasurer.  Mr.  Miller's  salary  was  fixed  permanently 
at  $400,  and  Mr.  Dunlap's  salary  advanced.  At  their  Sep- 
tember meeting,  they  conferred  the  degree  of  A.  B.  upon  Mr. 
James  Scott,  of  New  York,  and  on  Messrs.  Reed,  Leslie,  and 
Hunt.  The  two  last  afterwards  became  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel, the  last  a  Presbyterian  minister,  for  several  years  pastor 
of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburgh,  and,  after 
his  removal  to  Ohio,  he  was  pastor,  for  many  years,  of  the 
congregation  of  Two-Ridges,  Jefferson  county.  Here  he 
ended,  a  few  years  ago,  his  long  and  useful  life — George  Vane- 
man,  also,  afterwards  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  believed 
to  be  still  living  in  Ohio. 

We  now  enter  upon  the  sixth  year  of  this  first  College  of 
the  West.  The  whole  western  country  began  now  to  be  dotted 
over  with  her  alumni.  They  were  found  in  all  the  learned 
professions,  and  in  Agricultural  and  Commercial  life;  in 
Courts  of  Justice,  and  in  Legislative  Halls.  But  her  useful 
career  was  only  just  begun.  When  the  Trustees  met  in  April, 
1807,  the  same  officers  of  the  Board  were  re-elected.  The 
first  matter  of  incpiiry  was  in  regard  to  an  order  of  the  Board, 
made  last  year,  respecting  an  application  for  pecuniary  assis- 
tance to  the  Presbyteries  of  Redstone,  Ohio,  and  Chartiers. 
This  last  was  the  name  of  the  Presbytery  of  the  Associate 
body,  or  Seceders.  It  appeared  that  the  application  was  favor- 
ably entertained,  and  strongly  recommended  by  these  Presby- 
teries to  the  congregations  under  their  care.  G-en.  Hamilton 
also  reported  the  success  of  an  address  sent  to  Washington 
City  for  pecuniary  aid ;  and  paid  into  the  treasury  two  hun- 
dred and  ten  dollars,  which,  although  given  for  the  purpose 
of  building  a  college,  could,  in  the  meantime,  be  appropria- 
ted to  defray  the  current  expenses  of  the  College.  Mr.  Dun- 
lap  was,  on  his  application,  permitted  to  retain  $100,  which 
he  had  borrowed,  a  while  longer,  without  interest,  on  condi- 
tion that  he  would  continue  as  Principal.  His  application  for 
7 


74  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

increase  of  salary  failed,  no  doubt  from  the  financial  embarrass- 
ments of  tbe  College.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  explain 
to  bim  the  situation  of  the  funds,  &c,  and  strive  to  convince 
him  of  the  necessity  the  Board  was  under  to  refuse  his  request ; 
and  also  to  require  from  him  an  explicit  answer,  whether,  and 
how  long,  he  will  serve  as  Principal  of  the  College,  with  tbe 
present  salary. 

The  Principal  and  Professor  of  Divinity  were  required  in 
teaching,  each,  in  their  respective  classes,  to  cause  their  stu- 
dents, as  they  proceeded  in  their  studies,  to  write  dissertations 
"  on  the  most  striking  things  immediately  connected  with  their 
subjects.  "  Here  was  certainly  something  rather  singular,  so 
far  as  the  Professor  of  Divinity,  Dr.  M'Millan,  was  concerned. 
It  is  true,  he  had  been  appointed  by  the  Trustees  o£  the  Col- 
lege, as  their  Professor.  And  that  itself  seems  to  us,  in  these 
days,  queer.  That  a  Board,  though  consisting  partly  of  min- 
isters— always  a  minority,  however — a  Board  appointed  and 
incorporated  by  the  Legislature — a  secular  body,  a  close  cor- 
poration, under  no  ecclesiastical  control,  should  dictate  and 
prescribe  to  a  man  who  was  engaged  in  the  discharge  of  one 
of  the  highest  and  most  solemn  ecclesiastical  functions,  the 
way  in  which  they  would  require  him  to  fulfill  the  duties  of 
his  office,  sounds  very  strangely  in  our  ears.  Dr.  M'Millan 
was  also,  at  this  time,  in  some  sense,  a  quasi-Professor  of 
Divinity,  by  the  appointment  of  the  Synod  of  Virginia,  and 
by  the  recognition  of  the  Presbyteries  of  Ohio  and  Bedstone.  * 


*Even  so  late  as  October  5,  1821,  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  recognized  Dr. 
M'Millan  as  Profossor  of  Theology  in  Jefferson  College,  and  took  measures 
to  enlarge  the  Theological  Library  under  his  care,  as  appears  by  the  follow- 
ing minute,  on  page  178  of  Printed  Minutes : 

"Whereas,  it  appears  to  this  Synod  that  a  number  of  promising  young 
men,  who  are  sotting  their  faces  towards  the  gospel  ministry,  are  not  in  cir- 
cumstances to  attend  the  Theological  Sominary  at  Princeton — Therefore 
Resolved,  that  this  Synod  take  measured  for  procuring  a  library  for  the 
benefit  of  such,  to  be  under  the  control  and  direction  of  this  Synocl.     That 


HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE  FROM  1804.    75 

But  such  strange  things  were  not  without  precedents,  in  those 
times.  The  Trustees  of  Princeton  College  had,  long  before, 
appointed  a  Professor  of  Divinity  as  one  of  their  Faculty. 
And  so  to  this  day  do  the  Trustees  of  Harvard  University 
and  of  Yale  College.  And  if  trustees  may  appoint  such  Pro- 
fessors, they  may  rightfully  claim  to  instruct  them  in  their 
duties.  But  we  suspect  there  are  few  Presbyterians  of  this 
da}r,  who  would  tolerate  such  an  arrangement.  Perhaps, 
however,  in  the  case  under  consideration,  the  real  object  was 
to  get  the  Principal  of  the  College  to  attend  to  this  matter ; 
and  then  to  take  off  the  repulsive  feature  of  their  order,  by 
requiring  the  same  thing  of  Dr.  M'Millan.  Dr.  Dunlap  would 
not  take  offence  by  their  approaching  him  in  this  way.  He 
was  a  very  senstiive  man,  easily  wounded,  and  apt  to  take 
offence,  as  will  hereafter  appear ;  though  a  devotedly  pious 
and  eminently  learned  man. 

Mr.  Dunlap  declared,  as  the  committee  reported,  he  had  no 
design  of  leaving  the  College. 

Messrs.  Ralston,  Hughes  and  Murdock,  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  prepare  an  Address  to  the  Public,  concerning 
the  present  state  of  the  College,  and  the  views  of  the  Board, 
in  regard  to  the  erection  of  a  new  and  more  capacious  edifice. 
They  had,  during  the  preceding  year,  discussed  the  subject; 
and  it  was  mainly  with  a  view  to  this  they  had  communicated 
with  the  ecclesiastical  bodies  around  them,  and  had  even 
pledged  themselves  to  each  other  to  raise  money  by  subscrip- 
tion ;  having  determined,  as  soon  as  funds  could  be  secured, 
to  raise  at  least  the  new  shell  of  a  college,  large  enough  to 
contain  one  hundred  students.  But  no  considerable  progress 
had  yet  been  made,  though  something  had  been  done;  and 


it  be  recommended  to  every  member  to  solicit  books  or  moneys,  for  this 
important  purpose,  and  that  this  library  be  located  at  present  in  the  edifice 
of  Jefferson  College,  Canonsburg,  and  placed  under  the  care  of  the  Rev. 
John  M'Millan,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Theology  in  that  Seminary. " 


76  IIISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

perhaps  they  felt,  from  what  they  had  ascertained  respecting 
the  feelings  and  wishes  of  the  public  on  the  subject,  encour- 
aged and  assured  of  ultimate  success.  The  committee  above 
mentioned  were  instructed  to  address  the  public  through  the 
newspapers.  At  this  time,  also,  they  took  upon  themselves 
to  provide  assistant  teachers,  and  to  pay  them,  both  of  which 
things  they  had  heretofore  devolved  upon  the  Principal. 

In  September,  the  following  persons  were  admitted  to  the 
degree  of  A.  B.,  viz. :  James  Culbcrtson,  afterwards  a  dis- 
tinguished Presbyterian  minister,  who  was  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  the  gospel  in  Ohio,  who  labored  for  many  years  in  Zanes- 
ville,  Obio,  where,  a  few  years  ago,  he  died,  greatly  lamented ; 
Joseph  Stevenson,  who  also  became  a  very  efficient  and  suc- 
cessful minister,  a  son-in-law  of  the  Rev.  Thos.  Marquis,  and 
settled,  for  many  years,  near  Springfield,  Ohio ;  John  Matthews, 
a  minister  of  the  gospel  also,  we  believe,  settled,  at  one  time, 
in  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  Erie,  and  afterwards, 
somewhere  in  the  "West;  and  Wm.  Dunlap,  of  Virginia. 
This  last  person  was  probably  a  son  of  the  President  of  the 
College,  who,  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  was  settled  at  Abing- 
don, near  Philadelphia,  where  he  died,  comparatively  young. 
At  his  house,  his  father  died,  a  few  years  before  him.  The 
Rev.  Messrs.  Swan  and  James  Hughes  were  also  admitted  to 
the  degree  of  A.  M. 

At  this  meeting,  a  matter  was  introduced  to  the  attention 
of  the  Board,  which,  at  various  intervals,  employed  and  agi- 
tated them  for  more  than  ten  years  afterwards,  the  effects  of 
which  are  felt  to  this  day.  For  a  communication  was  received 
from  the  Washington  College  Board,  intimating  that  they  had 
appointed  a  committee  to  confer  with  a  committee  from  the 
Jefferson  College  Board,  if  such  a  committee  should  be 
appointed,  for  the  purpose  of  devising  a  plan  for  the  union 
of  the  two  Institutions.  Messrs.  Ralston,  M'Dowell,  Hamil- 
ton, and  Murdock,  were  accordingly  appointed  a  Commit'.cc 
to  meet  the  Committee  from  Washington,  and  make  report-  at 


HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE   FROM   1804.  77 

the  next  meeting  of  the  Boai-d.  Any  two  of  the  committee 
were  authorized  to  act,  in  the  absence  of  the  others.  An 
application  was  directed  to  be  made  by  a  committee,  appointed 
for  that  purpose,  to  the  next  Legislature,  praying  that  an 
alteration  be  made  in  the  charter  of  the  College,  making  nine 
instead  of  eleven  members,  a  quorum.  A  committee  was  also 
appointed  to  make  and  enforce  regulations  for  keeping  the 
College  clean,  and  to  have  it  washed  out,  at  least  twice  a  year, 
defraying  the  expenses  out  of  College  funds.  Another 
address  to  the  public  was  ordered  in  behalf  of  the  Institution  j 
and  Messrs.  Ralston,  Ramsey  and  Murdock  were  appointed  a 
committee  for  that  purpose.  Perhaps  this  was  merely  a 
renewal  of  an  order  passed  at  their  Spring  meeting,  which  had 
not  yet  been  attended  to.  It  is  manifest  that  neither  at  this 
time,  nor  in  after  years,  did  they  suffer  communications  from 
Washington  to  interrupt  their  efforts  for  enlarging  their  Col- 
lege and  extending  their  building  accommodations. 

During  the  next  meeting,  in  April,  1808,  Dr.  Ralston  was 
chosen  President  of  the  Board,  an  office  to  which  he  was 
afterwards  annually  elected  for  nearly  forty  years  !  Gen. 
Morgan,  also,  who  had  been  previously  elected,  was  now  duly 
qualified,  and  took  his  seat  as  a  trustee.  Dr.  M'Millan  was 
appointed  Treasurer,  to  receive  and  lend  out  any  money 
bequeathed  to  the  College  for  the  purpose  of  educating  poor 
and  pious  youth. 

Dr.  Murdock,  from  the  committee  appointed  to  meet  the 
committee  from  Washington  College,  to  confer  about  a  union 
of  the  two  Institutions,  reported — 

"  That  upon  meeting  with  the  Washington  committee,  a 
desultory  conversation  took  place  upon  the  business  in  question, 
which  finally  resulted  in  the  following  specific  propositions : 

"1st.  It  was  proposed  by  the  gentlemen  from  Washington, 

that  the  whole  number  of  members  from  each  Board  should 

meet,  and  by  a  joint  vote  should  determine  on  the  seat  of  the 

United  Institution.     This  was  objected  to  by  your  committee, 

7* 


78  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

because  a  number  of  the  Trustees  of  Washington  College  lived 
contiguous  to  their  present  seat,  and  were  locally  interested 
in  retaining  it  there,  whereas  the  number  of  members  in  this 
situation,  with  respect  to  Jefferson  College,  was  very  small 
in  comparison. 

"2d.  It  was  proposed  by  your  committee  that  all  the  mem 
bers  belonging  to  the  respective  Boards,  whom  it  be  supposed 
from  the  places  where  they  lived,  were  locally  interested,  should 
be  set  aside,  and  the  remaining  members,  by  a  joint  vote,  fix 
upon  the  future  seat  of  the  Institution.     This  was  objected  to. 

"  3d.  It  was  proposed  by  the  gentlemen  from  Washington  to 
exclude  all  their  members  actually  residing  in  the  town  of 
Washington,  whose  number  amounted  to  at  least  seven  or 
eight,  and  exclude  an  equal  number  from  this  Board.  But 
they  alone  must  be  the  judges  whom  of  our  number  to 
exclude.  This  was  objected  to  by  your  committee,  chiefly 
on  this  ground ;  because  a  number  of  members  belonging  to 
this  Board  agreed  with  them  as  to  the  future  scat  of  the 
Institution,  and  was  disposed  to  fix  it  at  Washington.  If  this 
were  a  fact,  it  was  injustice  to  give  such  an  advantage.  And, 
indeed,  whether  it  was  so  or  not,  your  committee  thought  it 
unreasonable  that  our  opponents  should  be  the  exclusive 
judges  who  of  our  number  should  vote  and  who  not,  on  this 
important  question.  Finally,  your  committee  thought  it  rea- 
sonable to  propose  that  all  the  members  constituting  the 
Boards  of  both  Institutions  should  agree  to  set  aside  any  of 
their  number  who  were  locally  interested  as  to  their  dwelling 
places;  and  if  a  greater  number  of  one  Board  were  thus 
excluded,  the  members  of  the  other  Board  were  alone  to  judge 
who  of  their  members  to  exclude,  so  as  to  make  the  number 
of  both  who  were  to  vote  on  the  question,  equal.  This  pro- 
posal, without  any  reasons  satisfactory  to  your  committee, 
was  also  rejected." 

Thus  the  conference  ended.  The  Board  approved  of  the 
conduct  of  their  committee,  and  at  the  same  time  expressed 


HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE    FROM   1804.  79 

their  regret  that  the  object  for  which  the  committee  was 
appointed  was  not  obtained,  recording,  however,  their  willing- 
ness, at  all  times,  to  express  their  hearty  desire  that  a  union 
of  the  Institutions  should  be  effected,  if  it  can  be  done  on 
liberal  and  equitable  principles. 

In  the  fall,  the  Rev.  John  Anderson  resigned  his  seat  as 
a  trustee,  and  the  Rev.  Win.  M'Millan  was  elected  in  his 
place.  The  students  admitted  to  the  degree  of  A.  B.  were 
Stephen  Boyer,  afterwards  a  Presbyterian  minister,  settled  at 
Little  York,  where  he  died  some  years  ago ;  Joseph  S.  Hughes, 
afterwards  an  eloquent  and  useful  minister,  settled  at  Dela- 
ware, Ohio.  He  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  James  Hughes,  and 
grandson  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Smith,  of  Buffalo ',  James 
Smith,  and  Ira  Gondii,  afterwards  ministers.  The  degree  of 
D.  D.  was  conferred  on  the  Rev.  James  Power,  of  West- 
moreland county,  Pa.,  and  the  Rev.  John  Anderson,  of 
Beaver  county,  Pa.,  (Secedcr.)  Dr.  Dunlap,  the  Principal, 
asked  for  the  appointment  of  another  Professor.  But  the 
Board,  deeming  it  inconvenient,  no  doubt  from  the  state  of 
the  finances  of  the  College,  to  comply  with  this  request, 
appointed  a  committee  to  assist  in  arranging  the  classes  and 
studies,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  lighten  the  burden  of  the 
Tutors.  Drs.  M'Millan  and  Dunlap,  and  Messrs.  Ramsey, 
Ritchie  and  Murdock,  were  appointed  a  committee  to  receive 
any  poor  and  pious  youth,  and  admit  them  to  the  benefit  of 
the  funds  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Trustees  for  that  purpose. 

At  a  regular  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  in  April,  1809,  it 
was  found  that  the  funds  of  the  College,  at  the  disposal  of 
the  trustees,  consisted — 

1st.  Of  a  donation  of  the  State,  at  interest,     -         -     $3,000 
2d.  Thepriceof  land  bequeathed  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clarke,  1,600 
3d.  Money  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Snowden,  of  Philadel- 
phia, at  interest, 1,300 

4th.  Money  at  interest  in  the  country,    -  1,290 

Making  in  all  the  sum  of  $7,190 


80  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

Dr.  M'Millan,  Judgo  Allison,  Craig  Ritchie,  and  Dr.  Mur- 
dock,  were  appointed  a  committee  to  lend  out  the  money 
arising  from  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clarke's  estate.  A  complaint  was 
entered  that  too  much  time  was  allowed  the  students  for 
recreation,  &c,  and  it  was  ordered  that  in  future,  besides  the 
usual  time  of  vacation  between  the  sessions,  there  shall  not, 
for  any  purpose,  be  allowed  by  the  Professors  more  than  ten 
days  in  the  year;  for  example,  one  day  in  each  month.  It 
is  left  with  the  faculty  to  fix  the  particular  days. 

A  communication  was  received,  at  the  Fall  meeting  of  the 
Board,  from  Isaac  Kerr,  Register,  intimating  that  John 
M'Dowell,  Esq.,  in  his  last  will  and  testament,  had  bequeathed 
fifty  dollars  to  the  Institution,  payable  at  Mrs.  M'Dowell's 
death.  *     The  Rev.  Mr.  Porter  was  authorized  to  call  on  the 


#  There  is  no  particular  minute  made  in  the  Records  of  the  Board,  -ahon 
the  seat  of  this  great  and  good  man  was  vacated  by  death.  Judge  John 
M'Dowell  left  few  men  superior  to  him,  when  he  was  called  to  his  rest.  He 
is  believed  to  have  been  born  in  York  county,  Pa.,  about  1737.  He  probably 
removed  to  the  West,  near  the  beginning  of  the  American  Revolution,  and 
settled  in  the  bounds  of  Chartiers  Congregation,  Washington  county,  of 
which  he  became  a  ruling  elder;  and  was  eminent  for  his  piety  and  active 
efforts  in  the  cause  of  Christ.  His  strong  mind  and  great  integrity  of  char- 
acter secured  to  him,  at  an  early  period,  the  appointment  of  Associate  Judge, 
in  Washington  county.  He  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  men  in  getting  up 
tho  Academy  at  Canonsburg,  and  was  one  of  the  trustees  from  the  first 
After  the  College  obtained  a  charter,  he  succeeded  Judge  Edgar  as  President 
of  tho  Board,  to  which  office  he  was  chosen  April  27,  1S03,  and  thencefor- 
ward for  four  successive  years.  He  died  August  12,  1809,  in  tho  73d  yoar 
of  his  age.     On  his  tombstone  are  the  following  lines: 

"  Sleep,  sacred  earth ;  but  thou  shalt  soon  arise  ! 
Dust  turns  to  dust ;  but  virtue  never  dies ; 
M'Dowell  lives;  blest  in  immortal  youth, 
Who  lived  while  here,  tho  advocate  of  truth. 
Firm  in  the  cause  of  God,  he  held  to  view 
A  character  sublime,  yet  humble,  too; 
God's  word  his  guide,  ho  bent  his  eagle  flight 
On  faith's  strong  pinions,  to  tho  realms  of  light. 
'  0  !  death,  whero  is  thy  sting  ; 
0  !  grave,  where  is  thy  victory.' " 


, 


HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE   FROM    1804.  81 

executors  of  John  Baird,  Esq.,  of  "Westmoreland  county,  and 
obtain  any  money  left  by  him  for  the  use  of  the  College. 
The  persons  admitted  to  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  were — 
Joseph  Scroggs,  who  afterwards  became  a  minister  in  the 
Secession  church,  and  is  now  pastor  of  a  church  in  Ligonier 
Valley,  Westmoreland  county;  James  Mittigan,  (who  became, 
we  believe,  a  minister  in  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  body,) 
and  Christopher  Rankin.  The  degree  of  B.  B.  was  conferred 
on  the  Rev.  Joseph  ClarJce,  of  New  Brunswick;  and  the 
degree  of  A.  M.,  on  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Samuel  Porter,  Wm. 
Dunlap,  Alexander  Monteith,  and  Jonathan  Leslie.  Mr.  TJws. 
Briceland  was  elected  a  trustee  to  fill  the  vacancy,  by  the  death 
of  Judge  M'Bowell.  At  this  time,  it  was  deemed  expedient 
by  the  Board  to  settle  the  order  of  procession  on  commence- 
ment clay ;  and  they  adopted  the  following,  viz :  "  That  the 
Trustees  and  Faculty  meet  at  the  house  of  Craig  Ritchie,  Esq., 
(now  owned  and  occupied  by  James  M'Cullough,  Esq.,)  that 
the  students  shall  assemble  in  front  of  the  same  house,  and 
that  they  walk  two  and  two,  according  to  their  respective 
classes,  after  the  Trustees  and  Faculty,  in  the  following  order  : 
The  President  of  the  Board  in  front,  then  the  Secretary  and 
Treasurer,  clergy,  and  other  members  of  the  Board,  two  and 
two ;  then  the  Faculty,  and  the  procession  to  be  brought  up 
by  the  tutor  or  tutors."  This  arrangement  continued  in  force 
for  many  years.  Those  Commencement  days  were  great 
events  in  College  life ;  and  that  procession,  with  Br.  Ralston 
at  its  head,  and  Br.  Murdock  and  Craig  Ritchie,  Esq.,  just 
behind  him, — all  three  very  portly  gentlemen — and  then 
brought  up  by  the  trustees,  faculty  and  students — the  stu- 
dents generally  powdered,  and  sporting  flaunting  blue  or  white 
ribbons  on  their  arms  or  coat  breasts — appeared  to  the  young 
students  awfully  sublime.  The  slow  and  solemn  tread  of  the 
procession,  away  up  the  middle  of  the  street,  if  the  walking 
was  good,  surrounded  by  an  immense  assembly  of  the  people, 
who  had  been  for  hours  before  pouring  in  from  the  surround- 


82  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

ing  country,  the  sound  of  the  violin  at  the  taverns  which 
were  passed,  the  neighing  of  horses,  far  and  near,  the  bum 
of  the  human  voice  in  all  directions,  the  merry  laugh,  and  the 
loud  giggle,  all  combined  to  throw  upon  the  scene  an  exciting 
interest,  and  to  make  many  a  young  heart  delirious  with  joy 
and  gladness.  The  younger  students,  the  Freshmen  espe- 
cially, thought  that  day  and  place  the  most  delightful  and 
attractive  in  all  the  world.  It  was  a  full  compensation  for 
wearisome  hours  of  study,  and  for  the  dull,  jog-trot  pace  of 
ordinary  college  life.  On  went  the  procession,  up  street,  past 
Dr.  Murdoch's  and  Neil's  corners,  and  past  the  crowds  about 
Wistby's  and  Emory's  taverns,  and  past  Mrs.  Canon's  beau- 
tiful yard,  and  old  Mr.  Robert's  store  and  post  office,*  till 
it  reached  the  gate,  in  front  of  the  old  stone  College,  then 
wheeled  to  the  left,  at  right  angles,  through  the  gate,  and  on 
through  the  yard,  and  up  the  outside  steps,  on  the  upper  side 
of  the  old  building,  and  landed,  and  disbanded,  in  the  second 
story ;  the  Trustees  and  Faculty  scrambling  through  a  front 
window,  from  which  the  sash  had  been  removed,  on  to  the 
stage.  Over  that  window,  however,  and  extending  over  the 
lower  end  of  the  stage,  was  a  tent,  of  white  sheets,  making  a 
small  room  of  about  ten  feet  square.  From  this  room  was 
the  entrance,  or  rather  the  exit,  on  to  the  other  part  of  the 
stage.  This  stage  or  platform  was  about  twelve  or  fifteen  feet 
wide,  and  extended  the  whole  length  of  the  college  building, 
in  front,  and  about  eight  feet  from  the  ground,  covered  with 
a  substantial  rag  carpet.  Here  were  the  Trustees  and  Faculty 
seated,  with  their  backs  to  the  college  wall,  and  their  faces 
to  the  gathering  throng  that  was  fast  filling  the  front  yard  of 
the  college,  back  to  the  gate,  through  which  the  procession 
had  just  passed.  After  all  the  Board  were  seated,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Board  rose,  and  said,  in  a  loud  and  distinct  voice, 


*  Wo  purposely  mention  old  names  and  places,  as  thoy  will  serve  to  renew 
pleasant  reminiscence3  in  the  minds  of  old  people. 


HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE   FROM   1804.  83 

"  Let  us  pray."  All  rose,  and  great  silence  and  order  pre- 
vailed, while  the  short  but  appropriate  prayer  was  made. 
Then  began  the  business  of  the  day.  At  this  moment,  we 
believe,  it  was  customary  to  announce  the  names  of  those  on 
whom  they  had  conferred  the  degree  of  A,  B.,  and  of  those 
who  received  the  first  and  second  honors ;  and  then  was  men- 
tioned the  order  of  their  speaking.  Programmes  had  not  yet 
come  into  use.  Then  the  exercises  of  the  graduates  began. 
These  sometimes  took  up  the  first  part  of  the  day  ;  sometimes, 
only  an  hour  or  two.  Then  followed  the  speeches  and  dia- 
logues of  the  under-graduates.  There  was  often  much  fun 
and  amusement  in  these  exercises.  Various  dramatis  per- 
sona:— soldiers,  clowns,  sailors,  drunkards,  pedlars,  negroes, 
&c.,&c,  were  introduced  in  their  appropriate  costumes.  Some- 
times an  Act  or  two  from  Shakspeare's  "  Merchant  of  Venice" 
or  "Julius  Caesar,"  or  Addison's  "Cato,"  would  be  exhibited. 
These  dialogues  were  interspersed  with  single  speeches ;  some 
serious,  and  some  ludicrous.  The  people  would  roar  with 
laughter,  and  even  the  old  trustees  would  unbend  themselves* 
to  many  a  hearty  and  healthy  laugh.  About  one-third  of  the 
audience  would  be  seated.  The  rest  were  standing.  If  the 
day  was  fine,  it  was  full  of  mirth  and  enjoyment  to  the  young 
people  of  all  the  country  round.  There  was  not  much  refine- 
ment of  manners  in  those  times.  The  whole  affair  was 
adapted  to  the  state  of  society ;  and,  for  a  period  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  college,  was  really  of  much  advantage  to  its 
interests.  It  made  the  College  popular.  It  awakened  a  desire, 
in  many  a  lad,  to  go  to  college.  And  though  such  a  feeling 
was  rather  of  a  low  birth,  it  led  to  better  things.  Let  us  not, 
in  these  times  of  greater  improvement  and  refinement,  despise 
these  old-fashioned  times  and  ways.  The  first  Exhibition,  as 
it  was  then  called,  we  ever  witnessed,  was  in  the  fall  of  1812. 
It  was  a  glorious  day.  Every  thing  above  and  around  con- 
spired to  make  the  scene  joyous  and  exciting.  Yet  it  is  a 
solemn  thought  that  few  who  witnessed  and  enjoyed  that  day, 


84-  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

are  now  ainon.w  us.  Not  a  single  Trustee  or  member  of  the 
Faculty  is  now  living.  Those  throngs  of  gay  young  ladies 
and  young  country  farmers  are  now  in  the  silent  grave,  or  are 
frosted  with  advancing  age.  Their  children  and  grand-chil- 
dren now  fill  their  places,  and  crowd  Providence  Hall  on  Com- 
mencement days — soon  to  yield  their  places  to  another  gene- 
ration, who  will,  perhaps,  enjoy  many  a  jest,  at  the  expense 
of  the  old  fashioned  ways  of  the  present  race.  Indeed,  there 
is  one  feature  of  our  present  Commencement  days,  that  the 
writer  is,  perhaps,  such  an  inveterate  old  fogy,  as  to  disrelish. 
We  refer  to  the  brass-band  accompaniment.  We  would  much 
prefer  the  music  of  a  piano,  or  of  a  bass-viol,  violin  and  Ger- 
man flute,  with  vocal  music,  if  it  could  be  secured — as  more 
in  unison  with  the  exercises  of  the  day,  and  with  the  refine- 
ment and  dignity  of  a  Literary  Institution.  The  brass-band 
is  too  loud  and  military  in  its  character ;  and,  in  our  view, 
throws  a  coarse,  vulgar  element  into  the  whole  scene. 


CHAPTER  V. 

NEW   PRESIDENTS   AND    "COLLEGE   WAR." 

Dr.  Dunlap  and  the  Board — Graduates  of  1810 — Dr.  Dunlap  resigns — Grad- 
uates of  1811  and  1812 — Br.  Wylie  elected  Principal — About  Ezekiel 
Hannah's  will — Graduates  of  1813, 1814  and  1815 — New  negotiations  with 
the  Board  of  Washington  College — Various  conferences — Final  failure  in 
attempt  to  unite  the  colleges — Much  sharp  shooting,  on  both  sides,  but 
none  killed,  and  few  wounded — Reflections  on  the  whole  case — Rev.  R. 
Johnston,  a  trustee  for  seventeen  years — Sketch  of  his  life — Dr.  Wylie 
resigns — Dr.  Wm.  M'Millan  succeeds,him — Dr.  Matthew  Brown — Remark- 
able circumstances  connected  with  his  election. 

When  the  Board  met  in  April,  1810,  the  same  officers  were 
continued,  viz :  Dr.  Ralston,  President ;  Dr.  Murdock,  Sec» 
retary;  and  Craig  Ritchie,  Esq.,  Treasurer.  A  letter  was 
received  from  Dr.  Dunlap,  intimating  his  determination  to 
resign  his  office  as  Principal  of  the  College,  at  the  next  fall 
sessions  of  the  Board.  In  this  communication  it  was  stated 
that  if  reasons  were  required,  they  would  be  given.  Being 
called  upon  by  the  Board  to  state  them,  his  answer  was  that, 
though  weighty,  he  was  not  then  altogether  prepared  to  give 
them,  but  designed  to  communicate  them  along  with  his  resig- 
nation in  the  fall.  However,  being  urged  to  mention  them 
now,  as  it  might  be  too  late  to  be  of  any  service  in  the  fall, 
he  consented,  and  said  that  there  ought  either  to  be  a  new 
house,  or  the  old  one  kept  in  better  repair ;  that  the  Board 
generally,  and  some  trustees  particularly,  had  found  fault  with 
him  for  not  attending  closely  enough  to  the  business  of  the 
College ;  that  the  Board  had  insulted  him,  some  time  ago,  by 
taking  the  power  of  employing  an  under  teacher  of  the  lan- 
guages out  of  his  hands,  and  reserving  it  to  themselves ;  and 
finally,  that  his  salary  was  too  small.  A  committee  was 
8  (85) 


86  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

appointed  to  confer  with  bim,  and  to  strive  to  remove  his 
difficulties.  Messrs.  Moore,  Hamilton  and  Allison,  the  com- 
mittee appointed  for  this  purpose,  reported  that  they  had  a 
free  conversation  with  the  Principal,  and  that  all  his  difficul- 
ties were  in  a  great  measure  removed,  except  that  of  salary, 
and  they  conceived  that  some  arrangement  might  be  made  as 
to  this  point.  Dr.  M'Millan  was  added  to  the  committee, 
and  they  were  sent  back  to  lay  before  Dr.  Dunlap  a  statement 
of  the  finances,  and  remove  his  misconceptions  concerning 
them.  But  their  report  was  that  the  Doctor  peremptorily 
refused  to  continue  longer,  unless  his  salary  was  increased. 
This  the  Board  decided  to  be  inexpedient  under  the  present 
circumstances  of  the  College.  An  extra-meeting  in  June  was 
appointed  to  take  into  consideration  the  securing  of  a  succes- 
sor to  Mr.  Dunlap.  And  the  Clerk  was  directed  to  notify 
absent  members  of  this  meeting.  When  this  meeting  took 
place,  a  letter  was  received  from  Dr.  Dunlap,  reiterating  his 
design  of  resigning  his  charge,  and  asking  for  the  loan  of 
some  money.  They  agreed  to  lend  him  $600,  to  be  refunded 
by  three  annual  installments,  with  interest.  The  Board  being 
informed  that,  besides  the  reasons  which  Dr.  Dunlap  had 
given,  at  the  last  meeting,  for  his  intention  of  resigning,  a 
rule  passed  September,  1807,  by  the  Board,  requiring  the 
Principal  and  Professor  of  Divinity  to  observe  a  certain  mode 
in  teaching  their  respective  classes,  aggrieved  him  much, 
refused,  nevertheless,  to  repeal  their  former  action  on  this 
subject.  Upon  its  being  intimated  that  Dr.  Dunlap  would  be 
content  to  continue,  if  another  teacher  of  languages  were 
employed  to  assist  him,  they  voted,  however,  that  this  was 
inexpedient  and  unnecessary,  at  this  time.  A  committee 
consisting  of  Messrs.  Hughes,  Marquis,  Ramsey  and  Swan 
was  appointed  to  wait  on  Dr.  Dunlap,  and  after  stating  to  him 
the  above  resolutions,  to  request  of  him  to  give  his  final  deter- 
mination as  to  his  resignation.  Upon  their  interview  with 
him,  he  declared  that  he  had  not  understood  the  rule  respect- 


NEW   PRESIDENTS   AND    "COLLEGE   WAR."  87 

ing  the  mode  of  teaching,  above  referred  to,  and  was  sorry  for 
it ;  and  that  he  was  now  satisfied  with  the  action  of  the  Board, 
and  recalled  his  notice  of  resignation.  *  At  the  fall  meeting, 
the  following  persons  were  admitted  to  the  degree  of  A.  B., 
viz  :  Andrew  Wylie,  afterwards  a  minister  of  the  gospel, 
and  successively  President  of  Jefferson  and  Washington  Col- 
leges, and  Indiana  University ;  James  Kerr,  afterwards  an 
eminent  physician,  residing  for  many  years  in  Claysville,  now 
in  Jefferson  or  Clarion  county,  Pa. ;  John  Reed,  afterwai'ds  a 
min.ster  of  the  gospel,  settled  at  Indiana,  Pa.,  where  he  died; 
James  Hervey,  afterwards  the  Rev.  James  Hervey,  D.  D., 
an  able  and  distinguished  minister  of  the  gospel,  settled  near 
Wheeling ;  William  Hendricks,  a  distinguished  lawyer  and 
United  States  Senator;  Wm.  Johnston,  afterwards  a  very  use- 
ful minister,  settled  at  Duulap's  Creek,  Pa. ;  John  Canon^ 
ind  Robert  Lusk,  ministers  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian 
church;  and  Jonathan  Gill.  Several  matters  of  minor  inter- 
est were  transacted  by  the  Board,  but  nothing  of  special  con- 
jern,  bearing  upon  the  general  character  of  the  College. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Board,  April  25,  1811,  the   same 
officers   were    re-elected.      Dr.    Dunlap    insisting   upon    the 


*  Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  above  account  reflects  unfavorably  upou 
7">r.  Dunlap.  We  must  remember  that  this  account  is  ex  parte — taken  from 
the  Records  of  the  Trustees.  Again,  there  is  no  doubt  that  Dr.  Dunlap's 
circumstances  were  those  of  almost  pinching  poverty.  He  had  como  to  the 
rescue  of  the  college  during  a  period  when  it  was  almost  threatened  with 
extinction.  He  had  stood  by  it  through  the  most  trying  period  of  its  history. 
He  had  nobly  discharged  his  duty,  and  aided  most  efficiently,  in  bearing 
the  college  onward  in  its  course  l  while,  all  this  time,  he  was  receiving  a 
very  inadequate  support.  He  bad  also  a  small  but  very  pious  congregation, 
that  loved  him,  and  urged  him  not  to  leave  them.  Several  of  the  trus- 
tees, including  Dr.  M'Millan,  were  anxious  that  he  would  not  now  withdraw 
from  their  service.  But  old  age  was  advancing  apace,  and  he  felt,  that  after 
all  his  past  sacrifices,  he  had  a  right  to  have  some  of  his  difficulties  removed, 
and  his  support  increased.  Without  a  knowledge  of  all  these  things,  the 
reader  of  the  above  account  might  be  liable  to  form  a  wrong  judgment  about 
that  worthy  old  servant  of  God. 


88  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

appointment  of  another  teacher,  and  increase  of  his  own 
salary,  both  of  which  being  refused,  tendered  his  resignation, 
which  was  accepted.  Dr.  M'Millan,  the  Vice-Principal,  was 
entrusted  with  the  administration  and  empowered  to  employ 
teachers,  and  1226  67  were  appropriated  out  of  the  College 
funds  to  meet  his  expenses,  in  securing  the  necessary  assis- 
tance during  the  Summer  session.  They  also  appointed  a 
meeting  in  June,  to  take  into  consideration  'the  choice  of  a 
Principal.  James  Mountain,  Esq.,  who  had  been  elected  in 
place  of  Mr.  Vance,  at  the  last  meeting,  was  present,  and 
being  duly  sworn,  took  his  seat  as  a  Trustee.  At  the  June 
meeting,  a  petition  was  received  from  Miller's  Run  Congrega- 
tion, praying  the  Board  to  re-appoint  Dr.  Dunlap  as  Principal 
of  the  College.  A  motion  was  then  made,  and  carried,  to 
postpone  the  choice  of  a  Principal  till  the  fall  meeting. 

At  the  fall  meeting,  September  24th,  the  committee  who 
had  been  appointed  to  examine  the  graduates,  reported  in 
favor  of  conferring  the  degree  of  A.  B.  on  James  Wright, 
afterwards  a  Presbyterian  minister ;  George  31'  Cook,  after- 
wards a  distinguished  physician,  now  residing  in  Pittsburgh ; 
and  James  Mitchell.  Their  report  was  accepted  and  adopted. 
Dr.  M'Millan  was  again  instructed  to  contract  for  teachers, 
as  he  had  done  last  session,  until  a  Principal  should  be  cho- 
sen ;  and  he  was  empowered  to  draw  $450  out  of  the  College 
funds  to  defray  expenses.  The  Rev.  Wm.  Wylie  was  elected 
trustee,  in  place  of  Mr.  Porter,  resigned.  A  committee  was 
also  appointed  to  draft  an  Address  to  the  State  Legislature, 
praying  for  a  donation  to  the  College. 

At  the  April  meeting,  in  1812,  Dr.  Andrew  Wylie  was 
elected  Principal  of  the  College  by  the  Board,  having  eleven 
votes  from  the  fifteen  members  present.  Mr.  Wylie  was  sent 
for,  and  being  notified  of  his  election,  declared  his  acceptance 
of  the  office.  Dr.  Wylie's  salary  was  fixed  at  the  same  amount 
that  Dr.  Dunlap  received,  which  was  $533  33,  he  payiug  his 
teachers  out  of  it.     In  September,  the  committee  that  had 


I 


NEW   PRESIDENTS   AND    "COLLEGE   WAR."  89 

been  appointed  to  examine  the  graduates,  reported  in  favor 
of  the  following,  viz  :  Wells  Andrews,  afterwards  a  Presby- 
terian minister,  first  settled  in  Alexandria,  Va.,  and  after- 
wards in  the  West;  Joseph  J\F  Elroy,  afterwards  Rev.  Joseph 
M'Elroy,  D.  D.,  of  New  York;  and  James  Coe,  a  highly 
esteemed  Presbyterian  minister  in  Ohio,  lately  deceased. 
They  were  accordingly  admitted  to  the  degree  of  A.  B. 

Whereas  it  appeared  that  the  late  Rev.  John  Brice  had 
left  sundry  legacies  for  the  use  of  Jefferson  College,  the  Trus- 
tees, considering  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  case,  unani- 
mously relinquished  them  for  the  sole  benefit  and  use  of  said 
testator's  widow  and  children,  their  heirs  and  assigns.  The 
degree  of  A.  M.  was  conferred  on  the  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Hughes. 

In  the  Spring  of  1813,  the  Board,  at  their  April  meeting, 
conferred  the  degree  of  A.  B.  upon  George  Miller,  formerly 
of  this  College.  He  was  a  son  of  Professor  Miller;  and  as 
he  was  appointed,  or  about  to  be  appointed,  an  Army  or  Naval 
Surgeon,  it  is  probable  that  this  circumstance  accounts  for 
the  irregularit}-  of  the  time  when  he  graduated.  A  classical 
book,  called  "  Collectanea  Grseca  Minora,"  was  ordered  to  be 
introduced  and  read  in  the  College ;  and  "  Lucian's  Dialogues" 
dispensed  with.  It  was  left  optional  with  the  Principal  to 
continue  or  dispense  with  "Xenophon's  Cyroptedia."  Pro- 
fessor Miller  was  requested  to  instruct  his  class  in  the  princi- 
ples of  Chemistry.  The  examining  committee,  in  September, 
reported  in  favor  of  John  Monteith,  afterwards  a  Presbyterian 
minister  in  New  York  and  Ohio ;  Archibald  Johnston,  after- 
wards a  Covenanter  minister  of  extraordinary  oratorical  pow- 
ers, who  lived  but  a  short  time ;  James  Rowland,  a  Presby- 
terian minister,  settled  at  Mansfield,  Ohio ;  Jeremiah  Wilcox, 
and  George  Junhin,  afterwards  Rev.  George  Junkin,  D.  D., 
a  man  of  great  energy,  talents  and  usefulness,  President,  suc- 
cessively, of  La  Fayette  College,  Pa.,  Miami  University,  Ohio, 
and  now  of  Washington  College,  Lexington,  Va. 

When  the  Board  met  in  1814,  it  was  found  that  there  had 
8* 


90  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

not  been  a  full  quorum  at  the  previous  September  meeting. 
But  they  now  sanctioned  their  proceedings,  and  gave   full 
validity  to  their  action  in  regard  to  the  graduating  class.     It 
was  ascerl&ined,  at  this  meeting,  that  Ezelriel  Hannah,  of 
Indiana    county,  Pa.,  lately  deceased,   had   bequeathed  his 
property,  to  a  large  amount,  for  the  use  of  the  College ;  but 
that  the  friends  and  heirs  of  the  deceased  would  contest  the 
validity  of  the  will.     It  was  necessary  that  the  Trustees  should 
have  the  will  proven,  and  take  the  proper  steps  for  defendiug 
the  suit.     The  Secretary  of  the  Board  had  obtained  satisfac- 
tory information  from  the  witnesses  of  the  will,  and  others, 
leading  the  trustees  to  determine  to  sustain  the  suit  in  court. 
Some  of  the  adverse  party  came  over  to  Canonsburg,  seeking 
an  interview  with  the  Board,  and  bringing  with  them  various 
depositions,  tending  to  show  that  the   testator  was  not  of  a 
sound  and  disposing  mind,  when  he  made  the  will,  and  wish- 
ing the  trustees  to  give  up  all  claim  to  the  property,  or  leave 
it  to  the  decision  of  some  persons  in  Indiana  and  Westmore- 
land counties.     The  trustees,  however,  deemed  it  expedient  to 
appoint  Dr.  Murdoch  and  James  Kerr,  Esq.,  a  committee, 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  necessary  measures  for  carrying 
on  the  suit.     The  price  of  tuition  was  now  fixed  at  $1S  per 
annum ;  but  it  was  understood  that  the   Board  would  be  at 
the  expense  of  providing  fuel  for  the  College,  making  of  fires, 
keeping  it  clean,  &c.     John  M'  Donald,  Esq.,  of  Pittsburgh, 
was    elected    Trustee    in   place    of   James  Mountain,    Esq., 
deceased.     And  the   Rev.   Elisha  M' Curdy  was  elected  in 
place  of  the  Rev.  Thos.  Moore,  resigned.     The  Rev.  Messrs. 
Ralston  and  Marquis  were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare 
and  present  a  petition  to  the   Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  at  their 
next  meeting,  praying  that  measures  might  be  taken  for  erect- 
ing and  maintaining  a  Divinity  Had,,  to  be  connected  with 
the  College.*     In  September,  1814,  the  Rev.  James  Hughes 

*  There  is  no  notice  of  this  in  the  printed  Records  of  tho  Synod. 


NEW  PRESIDENTS   AND    "COLLEGE   WAR."  91 

and  John  Mercer  resigned  their  seats  in  the  Board.  The  stu- 
dents petitioned,  complaining  of  the  difficulties  they  labor 
under,  in  being  obliged  to  provide  fuel  for  the  College,  keep- 
ing the  College  clean,  stage  expenses  at  the  Fall  Exhibition, 
and  praying  that  the  Trustees  would  take  charge  of  all  these 
matters;  and  that  so  much  be  added  to  the  price  of  tuition 
as  would  defray  all  such  expenses.  Their  prayer  was  granted, 
and  the  tuition  raised  to  $20  per  year.  The  Rev.  Moses 
Allen,  and  Abner  Lacoek,  Esq.,  were  elected  to  supply  the 
two  vacant  seats  in  the  Board.  The  committee  on  the  subject 
of  Mr.  E.  Hannah's  will,  reported  that  they  had  attended  at 
Indiana,  and  had  gotten  the  will  proven,  which,  together  with 
some  other  testimony,  they  had  transmitted  to  Mr.  Duncan, 
the  Attorney  in  behalf  of  the  College,  at  Carlisle.  At  the 
meeting  of  the  Trustees,  in  1815,  it  appeared  that  Mr.  Dun- 
can had  not  received  the  documents — that  they  had  miscar- 
ried ;  (a  suspicious  circumstance,)  and  Dr.  Ralston  and  James 
Kerr,  Esq.,  were  then  appointed  to  go  to  Indiana  and  proceed, 
de  novo.  The  Trustees,  in  view  of  the  defective  condition  of 
the  old  stone  college,  resolved  to  proceed,  forthwith,  to  make 
preparations  for  the  erection  of  a  new  edifice ;  and  that  every 
Trustee  should  exert  himself  to  procure  subscriptions  for  that 
purpose.  They  then  resolved  to  meet  again  in  June,  to  see 
what  had  been  the  result,  and  to  take  measures  accordingly. 
Upon  their  meeting  at  that  time,  they  could  not  make  a  Board, 
but  from  the  liberal  subscriptions  which  were  produced,  they 
were  encouraged  to  appoint  another  early  meeting,  and  to 
notify  the  absent  members.  They  accordingly  adjourned  to 
meet  again  August  3d.  But  it  was  again  a  failure,  perhaps 
through  disaffection  to  the  object,  or  influence  from  another 
quarter,  which  may  hereafter  appear.  Those  who  met,  how- 
ever, examined  the  subscriptions,  and  some  plans  for  the  new 
college,  and  then  adjourned  to  the  usual  time  in  September. 
They  now,  without  appointment  from  the  Board,  proceeded  to 
examine  the  graduates,  as  no  committee  for  this  purpose  had 


92  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

been  appointed  in  the  spring  •  and  agreed  to  recommend  to 
the  Board,  as  entitled  to  the  degree *of  A.  B.,  Joseph  Smith, 
(the  writer  of  this  history,)  Thos.  Johnston,  (who  died  a  few 
years  after,  near  Mercersburg,)  and  James  Frasier,  (who  died 
also  shortly  after.) 

A  letter  was  received  from  the  Trustees  of  Washington 
College,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Jefferson  College  Board,  Sep- 
tember 26,  1815,  informing  them  that  a  committee  had  been 
appointed  to  meet  and  confer  with  a  committee  from  the  Board 
of  Jefferson  College,  should  they  appoint  such  committee, 
respecting  a  union  of  the  two  Colleges.  Accordingly,  Dr. 
M'Millan,  and  Messrs.  Kerr,  M'Donald,  and  Murdoch,  were 
appointed  a  committee  on  that  business,  to  meet  at  Emory's 
tavern  on  the  ensuing  Friday.  Information  was  received  from 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Pringle,  that  the  suit  respecting  Mr.  Hannah's 
will,  had  been  tried  by  Arbitration,  and  that  the  decision  was 
against  the  Board ;  but  that  an  Appeal  was  entered  against 
the  decision;  consequently  it  must  take  its  course  in  Court. 
The  Board  approved  and  confirmed  the  course  pursued  by  a 
part  of  the  Board,  in  respect  to  the  graduates  above  mentioned, 
and  conferred  on  them  the  degree  of  A.  B.  The  degree  of 
A.  M.  was  also  conferred  on  the  Rev.  James  Wilson,  of  Phila- 
delphia ;  Andrew  Wylie,  Principal  of  the  College ;  Stephen 
Boyer,  of  Lancaster  county ;  Robert  Lusk,  of  Cumberland 
county  ;  and  John  M'Donald,  Esq.,  of  Pittsburgh;  all  alumni 
of  the  College.  Another  effort  was  made  to  obtain  legislative 
aid  towards  the  building  of  the  new  college,  and  Messrs. 
Murdoch  and  Ritchie  were  appointed  a  committee  for  this 
purpose.  Messrs.  Ritchie,  Morgan,  Mahon,  and  Murdoch, 
were  also  appointed  a  committee  to  procure  materials  for 
the  building,  which  at  that  time  it  was  determined  should 
be  erected  on  the  lot  of  the  old  college. 

The  Trustees  again  assembled,  October  25th,  upon  a  noti- 
fication of  the  committee  appointed  to  confer  with  the 
Washington  committee,  to  hear  their  report,   and,  if  neces- 


NEW   PRESIDENTS   AND    "COLLEGE   WAR."  93 

sary,  to  act  upon  it.  It  will  be  remembered  tbis  committee 
consisted  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  James  Kerr,  Esq.,  and  Dr.  Mur- 
doch. Tbe  Washington  committee  were  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
John  Anderson  and  Wm.  Spear,  and  Messrs.  A.  Murdoch, 
Esq.,  and  Parker  Campbell,  Esq.  Tbe  Jefferson  College 
committee  stated  they  had  called  a  meeting  of  tbe  Board  to 
lay  before  them  the  following  statement,  which  seems  to  have 
been  jointly  agreed  upon  by  the  two  committees,  for  it  is 
dated,  "  Canonsburg,  September  29,  1815,"  the  time  when 
the  committees  met  :  "  A  difficulty  having  arisen  with  regard 
to  the  place  of  union,  which  could  not  be  obviated  by  tbe 
Conferees,  it  was  proposed  by  the  committee  on  behalf  of 
Washington  College,  and  agreed  to  by  the  committee  on  behalf 
of  Jefferson  College,  that  it  be  recommended  by  the  different 
committees  to  their  respective  Boards  of  Trustees,  to  select 
and  appoint  three  trustees  from  each  Board,  in  manner  fol- 
lowing ;  that  is  to  say :  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Washington 
College  to  select  and  nominate  three  trustees  from  the  Board 
of  Jefferson  College,  and  the  Trustees  of  Jefferson  College  to 
select  and  nominate  three  trustees  from  the  Board  of  Wash- 
ington College,  whoso  duty  it  shall  be  to  meet  and  confer 
upon  the  subject  and  place  of  an  union  between  the  two  col- 
leges, at  the  tavern  of  Mr.  Graham,  on  Thursday,  tbe  26th 
of  October,  and  at  such  other  times  and  places  as  may  be 
most  convenient  to  them,  until  their  duty  is  fulfilled ;  and 
further,  to  make  report  of  their  proceedings  and  determina- 
tions, or  that  of  a  majority  of  them,  to  their  respective  Boards 
of  Trustees,  for  their  approbation  or  rejection."  After  this 
paper  was  read,  a  difficulty  arose  in  the  minds  of  some  of  the 
members  of  tbe  Board  of  Jefferson  College,  whether  the  Board 
had  legally  met.  It  no  doubt  occurred  to  them  that  their 
action  on  this  report  would  be  of  serious  consequence.  And 
it  was  well  to  be  sure  whether  they  could  now  legally  proceed, 
in  either  approving  or  rejecting  the  course  suggested  by  the 
Conferees.     It  was  carried  in  the  affirmative,  however,  that  it 


94  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

was  a  legally  constituted  Board.  Then  they  agreed  to  the 
report,  and  appointed  Messrs.  Gwin,  Allison,  and  Stephenson, 
trustees  of  Washington  College  Board,  to  meet  with  the  com- 
mittee which  should  be  selected  from  their  Board,  for  further 
conference.  But  they  also  Resolved,  "  That  this  Board  is  not 
prepared  to  remove  the  site  of  the  college  from  Canonsburg, 
except  the  hand  of  Providence  is  clearly  discernible  in  such 
a  measure,  either  by  casting  lots,  or  leaving  it  to  the  decision 
of  the  Legislature."  President  Wylie's  salary  was  now  raised 
to  $700  per  annum  ;  and  Prof.  Miller's  to  $500.  Whilst  the 
Board  were  still  in  session,  they  were  informed  that  the  Wash- 
ington Board  had  selected  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Marquis,  Maeurdy, 
and  James  Allison,  Esq.,  of  the  Canonsburg  Board,  to  meet 
those  above  mentioned  of  the  Washington  Board  ;  and  as  that 
important  joint  committee  were  to  meet  the  next  day,  the  Board 
adjourned  till  then,  to  be  ready  to  hear  their  report.  Accord- 
ingly, on  the  following  day,  the  Board  received  the  following 
paper : 

«  Graham's  Tavern,  October  26,  1815. 
"  The  Committees  from  the  Boards,  &c,  met  according  to 
arrangements  of  these  Boards,  last  evening ;  Judge  Allison 
was  chosen  Chairman,  and  the  Bev.  Thos.  Allison,  Secretary 
of  the  meeting.  After  some  conversation,  in  which  the  design 
of  the  Boards  respecting  the  propriety  of  uniting  the  Colleges 
was  expressed,  it  was  agreed  that  the  commissioners  from  the 
Board  of  Washington  College  should  state  the  grounds  upon 
which  they  proposed  to  form  said  union.  The  commissioners 
then  stated  that  they  were  instructed  to  say  that  all  the  present 
funds  of  the  college  of  Washington  should  be  at  the  disposal 
of  the  United  Board,  together  with  five  thousand  dollars,  to 
be  obtained  by  the  present  Board  of  said  College,  upon  condi- 
tion that  the  permanent  site  of  the  united  college  shall  be  in 
the  Borough  of  Washington,  which  condition  is  a  sine  qua  non. 
The  commissioners  from  the  Board  of  Jefferson  College  stated 
that  they  were  instructed  to  say  that  the  site  of  the  united 


NEW   PRESIDENTS   AND    "COLLEGE   WAR."  95 

college  shall  be  determined  by  the  mind  of  Providence, 
expressed  either  by  lot,  or  a  decision  of  the  Legislature  of 
this  State.  As  it  was  evident  that  the  two  Boards  could  not 
agree,  according  to  the  above  resolutions,  the  committees  were 
of  the  mind  that  the  object  of  uniting  the  colleges  should 
still  be  pursued ;  and  from  a  free  conversation,  it  appeared 
practicable,  by  some  further  deliberations  in  said  Boards  ;  and 
agreed  to  recommend  a  reconsideration  of  the  subject,  and 
give  further  instructions  to  their  respective  committees. 
"  Signed 

"James  Allison, 
"Thos.  Allison." 

After  some  conversation  on  the  report,  the  following  reso- 
lution was  moved  :  "  Resolved,  that  provided  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  Washington  College  will  not  recede  from  their 
sine  qua  non,  but  will  give  five  thousand  dollars,  in  addition 
to  their  present  funds,  half  of  the  Trustees  and  the  casting 
vote  in  the  choice  of  the  Faculty,  this  Board  will  agree  to 
give  up  the  site  to  them,  and  will  unite  with  them  in  petition- 
ing the  Legislature  to  effect  the  object  in  view."  The  con- 
sideration of  this  motion  was,  however,  postponed,  for  the 
purpose  of  choosing  a  committee  to  confer  with  the  Professors 
of  Jefferson  College  on  the  subject.  Messrs.  Ramsey,  Mur- 
dock,  and  M'Dowell,  were  appointed  that  committee ;  and 
after  some  time,  brought  in  the  following  report,  in  writing, 
from  President  Wylie  :  "  On  condition  that  the  Board  of 
Jefferson  College  do  not  see  proper  to  accede  to  the  proposals 
that  may  be  made  from  the  Board  of  Washington  College, 
and  that  there  should  be  a  unanimity  of  views,  and  a  coinci- 
dence of  exertions  in  supporting  the  interests  of  Jefferson 
College,  I  will  agree  to  continue  in  my  present  office,  till 
means  may  be  put  in  operation  for  rendering  this  Institution 
respectable.  If,  however,  the  proposals  from  Washington 
will  be  such  as  to  secure  the  preponderance  and  priority  to 


96  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

the  Board  and  Faculty  of  Jefferson  College,  my  opinion  would 
be  that  they  ought  to  be  acceded  to,  and  my  conduct  shall  be 
regulated  accordingly.  P.  S. — Upon  conversation  with 
Mr.  Miller,  I  believe  he  will  agree  with  the  views  stated  above." 
The  original  motion  was  then  called  up,  when  the  vote  was 
taken,  "  accept  or  not  V  The  votes,  when  counted,  were  found 
exactly  equal,  and  the  motion  was  lost  of  course.  "  The  Presi- 
dent having  declined  voting,  made  the  equality."  When  the 
Board  met  again  on  adjournment,  January  4,  1816,  it  was 
moved  and  carried  to  make  the  last  minute  (above  given) 
read  thus,  viz  :  after  the  word  "  equality,"  "  the  President 
was  then  called  upon  to  vote ;  for  some  time  he  hesitated, 
but  afterwards  he  did  vote  in  the  affirmative ;  no  reflection 
upon  the  Secretary  is  hereby  intended  or  designed."  A 
petition  of  the  students  against  the  removal  of  the  college 
was  received  and  read.  The  report  from  the  Committee  upon 
a  union  of  the  Colleges  was  again  read.  Then  the  following 
resolution  was  adopted  ;  "  That  the  diligence  and  fidelity  of 
the  committee  be  approved ;  but  that  from  a  change  of  cir- 
cumstances, since  the  last  meeting  of  the  Board,  the  union 
recommended  cannot  be  confirmed  and  ratified."  This  was 
approved  withcu.it  any  dissent,  and  gave  the  final  quietus  to 
the  whole  business.  But  it  did  not  release  them  from  further 
trouble  on  this  subject.  For  at  their  following  Spring  meet- 
ing, in  April,  they  received  another  communication  from 
Washington,  insisting  that  the  Board  of  Jefferson  College, 
having  committed  themselves  to  certain  conditions  of  a  union, 
which  had  been  agreed  upon,  through  their  committees,  in 
accordance  with  alleged  instructions,  were  now  bound  in  good 
faith  to  carry  out  their  action.  A  majority  of  the  Trustees 
of  Jefferson  College  thought  otherwise,  and  claimed  still  to 
have  reserved  to  themselves  the  right  of  confirming  or  rece- 
ding from  the  terms  proposed  by  the  committees.  It  was  a 
delicate  and  difficult  point  in  diplomacy.  Some  of  the  very 
same  questions  involved  in  the  case,  have  often  been  discussed 


NEW   PRESIDENTS    AND    "COLLEGE    WAR."  97 

in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  with  immense  ingenuity 
and  argument,  whenever  the  subject  of  confirming  and  rati- 
fying treaties  has  been  before  them.  If  any  body,  on  either 
side  of  this  subject,  thinks  it  a  very  plain  case,  we  would 
advise  him  to  read  over  the  arguments,  pro  and  con,  on  the 
subject  of  Jay's  celebrated  treaty ;  and  he  will  not,  perhaps, 
think  it  is  so  easy  a  question  to  decide.  Perhaps  the  Jeffer- 
son Board  would  have  yielded  the  point  to  the  Washington 
Board,  had  they  not  been  disturbed  by  other  influences,  espe- 
cially the  discovery,  as  they,  perhaps  erroneously,  thought, 
that  some  of  the  Washington  Board  had  been  tampering  with 
their  President.,  and  some  members  of  their  Board.  However 
this  may  be,  they  returned  a  spirited  but  respectful  answer 
to  their  brethren  in  Washington.  These  papers  are  on  file, 
but  we  think  it  unnecessary  to  burden  our  narrative  with  them. 
The  Board,  now  released  from  this  troublesome  affair,  went 
on,  with  renewed  spirit,  in  their  enterprise  of  erecting  a  new 
college — purchased  from  Mrs.  Canon  her  lot,  the  most  eligible 
in  the  town  for  the  site,  directed  a  committee  to  sell  the  old 
college  and  lot,  and  pledged  themselves  to  the  amount  of  $200 
additional,  if  that  amount  should  be  necessary,  after  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  sale  of  the  old  property,  and  the  collections  of 
the  extra  subscriptions  should  be  gathered  in,  to  pay  Mrs. 
Canon.  When  the  Board  met  in  September,  1816,  they 
received  and  confirmed  the  report  of  the  Examining  Commit- 
tee, recommending  that  the  degree  of  A.  B.  be  conferred  on 
Huyh  Dickey,  Wm.  Graham,  and  Wm.  Wallace ;  who  all, 
we  believe,  afterwards  became  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  the 
Presbyterian  church.  James  Kerr,  Esq.,  was  appointed  to 
attend  at  Carlisle,  employ  counsel,  and  manage  the  suit  respect- 
ing E.  Hannah's  Will,  in  behalf  of  the  Trustees.  September 
24th,  1817,  the  Rev.  Andrew  Wylie,  D.  D.,  having  resigned 
his  office,  the  Rev.  Wm.  M'Millan  was  chosen  in  his  place. 
The  Rev.  Francis  Herron,  D.  D.,  and  the  Rev.  Michael  Law, 
together  with  Richard  Johnson,  Benjamin  Williams,  Andrew 
9 


98  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

Munro,  and  John  Reed,  Jr.,  were  elected  Trustees  to  fill  the 
places  of  the  Rev.  Thos.  Marquis,  Rev.  Wm.  M'Millan,  John 
Morgan,  Dr.  Samuel  Murdock,  James  Allison,  and  Abner 
Lacock,  resigned.  Another  meeting  was  appointed  in  Decem- 
ber, and  in  the  meantime,  each  member  was  to  use  his  "  best 
endeavors"  to  collect  money  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
new  college.  The  Examining  Committee  reported  in  favor 
of  the  following  persons  :  Abraham  Anderson,  (afterwards 
A.  Anderson,  D.  D.,  a  distinguished  minister  and  Professor 
of  Theology  in  the  Secession  Church,  recently  deceased,) 
Daniel  M'Intosh,  (a  Presbyterian  minister  of  great  promise^ 
from  the  Scotch  Settlement,  in  Ohio,  who  went  to  the 
South  for  his  health,  and  died  in  Georgia  or  Florida,)  and 
Andrew  Todd,  who  were  admitted  to  the  degree  of  A.  B. 
Another  effort  was  made  to  obtain  legislative  aid.  The  thanks 
of  the  Board  were  voted  to  the  ladies  of  Canonsburg  and 
vicinity,  and  the  students,  who  had  contributed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  painting  the  walls  of  the  college  edifice,  and  purchasing 
a  new  bell  for  Jefferson  College ;  and  the  Secretary  was 
directed  to  publish  it  in  the  newspapers.  This  is  the  first 
record  of  thanks  we  have  met  with,  to  the  ladies,  for  their 
kind  offices  in  behalf  of  the  College.  But  it  ought  never  to 
be  forgotten  that  the  zealous  and  efficient  co-operation  of 
the  ladies  was  afforded  from  the  earliest  period  in  the  history 
of  this  Institution.  Many  of  our  pious  mothers  and  grand- 
mothers offered  up  their  prayers,  and  devoted  a  part  of  the 
labor  of  their  own  hands,  for  the  support  and  prosperity  of 
Jefferson  College.  Our  readers  will  not  forget  what  facts  old 
Mr.  Patterson's  subscription  papers  prove,  about  the  early 
efforts  of  our  mothers,  seventy  years  ago,  when  they  lived  in 
log  cabins,  and  were  not  yet  free  from  exposure  to  the  incur- 
sions of  the  Red  Men  of  the  Woods. 

Another  communication  was  received  from  the  Trustees  of 
Washington  College,  informing  them  that  Messrs.  Campbell, 
Murdock  and  M'Gifiin,  were  appointed  a  committee  for  the 


NEW   PRESIDENTS   AND   "COLLEGE  WAR."  99 

purpose  of  renewing  the  negotiation  for  the  union  of  the 
Colleges,  and  to  report  whether  it  be  practicable  to  effect  such 
union.  To  which  the  Board  of  Jefferson  College  returned 
the  following  rather  caustic  answer  :  "  On  motion,  Resolved, 
That  as  it  is  the  duty  of  those  to  whom  the  education  of  youth 
is  committed,  to  inculcate,  both  by  precept  and  example,  the 
virtues  of  candor,  honor,  justice  and  truth  ;  this  Board,  there- 
fore, cannot,  consistent  with  the  duty  they  owe  to  the  public, 
to  the  youth  committed  to  their  care,  and  to  the  respect  they 
owe  to  themselves,  open  a  correspondence  with  the  Board  of 
Washington  College,  until  they  explain  their  conduct,  respect- 
ing the  agreement  they  made  with  Mr.  Wylie,  the  late  Prin- 
cipal of  Jefferson  College,  while  in  our  employ."  They  then 
adjourned  till  December  3d,  1817.  In  the  meantime,  the 
Board  of  Washington  College,  upon  receiving  this  answer  to 
their  overture,  drew  up  and  published  a  long  and  able  paper, 
vindicating  themselves  from  the  charge  insinuated  by  the 
Board  of  Jefferson  College,  and  hurling  back,  with  much 
severity,  but  in  very  polished  style,  various  charges  against 
the  Board  of  Jefferson  College.  To  this  paper,  the  Trustees, 
at  their  second  December  meeting,  replied  in  a  memorable 
answer,  that  produced  a  deep  sensation  in  the  public  mind  at 
the  time.  The  paper  was  reported  by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Ram- 
sey and  M'Millan,  who  had  been  appointed  a  committee  (De- 
cember 3d)  for  that  purpose.  We  have  heard  that  much  of 
it  was  written  by  Dr.  Ralston.  But  of  that  we  are  not  cer- 
tain. This  long  and  able  paper  was  assailed  with  the  utmost 
severity  from  various  quarters  ;  and  not  without  partial  suc- 
cess. For  it  had  its  weak  and  assailable  points,  especially  in 
relation  to  the  origin  of  the  movement  against  Dr.  M.  Brown, 
in  Washington  congregation  ;  also  in  relation  to  an  alleged 
secret  contract  with  Dr.  Wylie,  and  in  reference  to  the  charge 
of  disingenuousness  on  his  part.  An  able  defence  was  also 
made  of  the  alleged  conduct  of  those  Trustees  of  Jefferson 
College,  to  whom  Mr.  Wylie  had  made  known  his  purpose  of 


100         HISTORY  OP  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE. 

resigning  bis  office  at  Canonsburg.  All  about  the  midnight 
plotting  to  destroy  Jefferson  College  was  set  in  a  very  different 
light,  by  the  answers  which  appeared  through  the  press  at 
the  time.  It  may  suffice  to  satisfy  our  readers  that  there  were 
two  sides  to  almost  every  matter  in  discussion,  when  they  learn 
that  such  men  as  the  Rev.  John  Anderson,  D.  D.,  the  Rev. 
Thos.  Marquis,  and  the  Rev.  Elisha  Macurdy,  differed,  almost 
in  toto,  from  most  of  the  statements  and  arguments  advanced 
in  this  powerful  paper  of  the  Jefferson  Board.  Those  who 
wrote  it,  and  almost  all  the  members  of  those  two  Boards,  are 
now  in  the  grave.  There  were  earnest  and  eminently  pious 
men'  enlisted  on  each  side  of  that  exciting  subject.  They  are 
now  at  perfect  peace ;  and  even  long  before  they  left  the  world, 
every  root  of  bitterness  had  been  drawn  from  their  hearts. 
We  had  thought,  at  one  time,  of  placing  in  the  Appendix 
some  of  the  able  papers  published  by  these  Boards  and  their 
friends,  simply  as  "  Curiosities  of  Literature  ;"  but  lest  old 
fires  might  again  be  kindled,  we  have  concluded  to  withhold 
them. 

In  April,  18]  8,  a  valuable  accession  was  secured  to  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  by  the  election  of  the  Rev.  Robert  John- 
ston, who  had  been  a  pupil  during  the  times  of  the  old  Acad- 
emy;  and  who  continued  a  trustee  for  seventeen  years.*     In 

*  Few  men  in  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  for  the  last  half  century,  took  a 
more  prominent  part  in  its  counsels,  or  exerted  a  more  beneficial  influence, 
than  the  subject  of  this  notice.  And  Jefferson  College  had  few  more  valua- 
ble and  substantial  friends.  "Robert  Johnston  was  born  in  Perry  county, 
(then  a  part  of  Cumberland  eounty,)  on  thebanks  of  the  Juniata,  in  August, 
1774,  where  he  spent  the  first  years  of  his  life.  Little  is  known  of  his  youth, 
and  his  first  religious  exercises  of  mind.  It  seems  probable  that  about  the 
beginning  of  this  eontury,  he  was  a  student  of  Canonsburg  Academy,  with 
a  view  of  preparing  himself  for  the  gospel  ministry.  For,  from  the  records 
of  tho  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  it  appears  that  he  was  liconsod  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel, on  the  23d  of  April,  1802.  It  is  believed  his  theological  studies  were 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  M'Millan.  Ho  obtained  from  tho  Presbytery,  at 
its  next  meeting,  Juno  30th,  1S02,  liberty  to  itinerate  in  tho  bounds  of  tho 
Presbytery  of  Erie  until  the  first  of  August,  and  was  also  appointed  to  supply 


HEW   PRESIDENTS   AND    "COLLEGE   WAR."  1Q1 

the  fall  of  1818,  the  following  students  received  the  degree  of 
A.  JJ. :  Wm.  Blair,  Robert  Baird,  (afterwards  the  Kev.  Dr. 
Baird,  of  New  York,  the  distinguished  European  Traveler 
and  Lecturer,  and  at  the  head  of  the  Evangelical  Protestant 


itatedly  at  Buckskin  and  Mount  Pleasant,  Ohio,  for  two  months.  The  Pres 
bytery  of  Erie,  October  5th,  1803,  reported  to  the  Synod  that  they  had 
received  Mr.  Johnston,  a  licentiate  from  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  'who 
»ecepted  a  call  from  the  united  congregations  of  Scrubgrass  and  Bear  Creek ;' 
and  at  the  next  meeting  of  Synod,  they  reported  '  that  they  had  ordained 
and  installed  him.'  After  laboring  with  eminent  usefulness  and  success  in 
this  field,  where  the  spirit  of  God  was  poured  out  in  a  remarkable  degree, 
during  a  considerable  part  of  the  seven  years  of  his  ministry,  ho  was  then, 
At  his  own  request,  dismissed,  January  2d,  1811.  He  then  entered  a  new 
and  important  field,  in  Crawford  county;  and  on  the  15th  of  October  ensuing, 
he  was  installed  pastor  of  the  united  congregations  of  Meadville,  Sngar 
Creek,  and  Conneaut  Lake.  Here,  for  six  years,  and  during  a  portion  of 
fee  prime  of  his  life,  he  was  engaged  in  that  laborious  and  scattered  charge. 
Thence,  at  his  request,  ho  was  dismissed,  April  2d,  1817.  During  the  follow- 
ing year,  he  removed  into  Westmoreland  county,  and  became  a  member  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Redstone,  having  accepted  a  call  to  the  united  congrega- 
tions of  Rehoboth  and  Roundhill.  He  was  installed  pastor  of  these  churches, 
June  18th,  1818.  Here,  for  thirteen  or  fourteen  years,  he  was  laboriously 
engaged  in  his  Master's  work,  and  many  were  given  to  him  as  seals  of  his 
ministry.  From  the  congregation  of  Roundhill,  he  was,  at  his  own  request, 
lismissed,  December  14,  1831 ;  and,  in  the  following  year,  from  Rehoboth. 
Borne  time  in  1833,  we  believe,  he  removed  into  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Blairsville,  and  took  charge  of  the  congregation  of  Bethel  or  Blacklick,  an 
•Id  and  most  respectable  congregation,  whose  history  dates  far  back  in  the  last 
century.  Here  Mr.  Johnston  continued  in  his  ministerial  work  for  a  number 
of  years.  Upon  retiring  from  this  field,  and  now  becoming  infirm  through 
years  of  laborious  and  self-sacrificing  toil,  he  removed  to  the  town  of  Indi- 
«na,  where  he  resided,  without  a  pastoral  charge,  with  his  son,  James  John- 
tton,  Esq.  Upon  the  removal  of  his  son,  a  distinguished  lawyer,  to  Hew 
Castle,  the  county  seat  of  the  new  county  of  Lawrence,  he  and  his  aged  wife 
accompanied  him,  to  this  their  last  encampment  on  their  way  to  the  Heavenly 
Canaan.  Mrs,  Johnston  did  not  long  survive  this  removal,  but  died  in  t&e 
faith  about  two  years  afterwards,  leaving  her  bereaved  husband  to  follow 
faer,  after  a  further  trial  of  his  faith  and  patience.  He  is  now  waiting  at  a 
Very  advanced  age  for  his  dismission.  Mr.  Johnston  was  an  able  instructor 
and  faithful  preacher  of  the  word.  He  was  a  bold  and  fearless  man  irr  the 
disoharge  of  his  duty ;  devoid  of  all  fear  of  man,  either  in  or  out  of  the 

9* 


102  HISTORY  OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

Alliance,)  Samuel  Evans,  Salmon  Cowles,  (now  a  venerable 
Presbyterian  minister  in  Iowa,)  Thos.  Hannah,  (the  Rev. 
Thos.  Hannah,  D.  D.,  a  minister  of  the  Associate  Church  in 
Washington,  Pa.,)  Joshua  Moore,  (a  Presbyterian  minister  in 
Lewistown,  Pa.,  lately  deceased,)  Wm.  M'  Clure,  Alexander 
Williamson,  Wm.  Jeffery,  D.  D.,  and  Jas.  P.  Miller.  Prin- 
cipal M'Millan's  salary  was  1600  per  annum.  Mr.  Abraham 
Anderson  (late  Dr.  Anderson)  was  chosen  Professor  of  Lan- 
guages. In  the  spring  of  1819,  Principal  M'Millan  was  com- 
missioned to  spend  two  months  to  solicit  contributions  for  the 
College — especially  to  defray  expenses  for  building  the  new 
College.     In  September,  the  graduate  class  consisted  of  David 


pulpit,  an  oxcellent  pastor,  a  wise  and  judicious  Presbyter,  a  valuable  Trustee 
of  Jefferson  College,  and  a  faithful  champion  for  Old  School  theology,  and 
strict  church  discipline.  He  had  a  cast  of  manners  and  a  mode  of  social 
intercourse  that  led  many  to  consider  him  as  overbearing  and  tyrannical ;  but 
it  was  altogether  his  manner,  arising,  perhaps,  from  a  constitutional  temper- 
ament. Por  a  more  kind-hearted  man,  and  a  warmer  friend,  could  not  easilj 
be  found.  The  period  of  his  ministerial  and  pastoral  labors  in  Scrubgrass, 
Meadville,  Eoundhill,  and  Bethel,  should  be  long  remembered  as  one  of  much 
spiritual  prosperity  in  those  churches.  Mr.  Johnston  did  much  among  his 
people  in  promoting  the  cause  of  religious  benevolence.  Nor  was  his  useful- 
ness in  this  respect  confined  to  any  one  field.  He  was  the  ardent  and  efficient 
friend  of  domestic  and  foreign  missions,  of  our  then  infant  Theological  Sem- 
inary, and  of  the  cause  of  education.  As  a  member  of  Presbytery,  and  of 
the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  from  the  latter  of  which  ho  was  not  absent  a  single 
meeting  for  more  than  forty  years,  his  services  in  these  respects  were  inval- 
uable.    More  than  once,  important  agencies  wore  entrusted  to  him. 

"During  the  great  struggle  of  the  church  from  1832  to  1838,  against  th« 
alarming  revolutionary  movements  of  the  New  School  party,  Mr.  Johnston 
Stood  a  firm,  unyielding,  and  efficient  friend  and  advocate  of  the  doctrines 
and  tho  ecclesiastical  policy  of  the  church  of  our  fathers.  May  he  yet  b« 
spared  just  so  long  as  his  Divine  Master  has  anything  yet  for  him  to  do  ol 
suffer  for  his  cause,  and  may  his  nunc  demittis  find  him  filled  with  faith  and 
ho,pe  and  love !" 

The  foregoing  notice  is  taken  from  the  Appendix  to  a  sermon,  entitled 
"T,ho'foarof  God,  woman's  true  praise;"  preached  at  Roundhill  in  1855, 
aCnd  published  by  request.  A  more  extended  memoir  of  Mr.  Johnston  is  in 
preparation,  with  a  view  to  insertion  in  a  second  volume  of  "  Old  Redstone." 


NEW   PRESIDENTS   AND    "COLLEGE- WAR."  103 

Carson,  Adam  Coon,  Alexander  M'Candless,  Jno.  M' Kinney, 
Wm.  Smith,  and  Joseph  Trimble.  We  find  here  the  name 
of  A.  M'Candless,  long  known  and  highly  esteemed  pastor  of 
Long  Run  Congregation.  He  afterwards  removed  to  New 
Jersey,  where  he  died  some  years  ago.  Also  the  Rev.  Wm. 
Smith,  D.  D.,  who  has  been  for  more  than  thirty-five  years  a 
Professor  of  Languages  in  Jefferson  College,  and  pastor  of 
Miller's  Run  Congregation.  If  long  and  faithful  services, 
both  as  professor  and  pastor,  entitle  any  man  to  distinction, 
Dr.  Smith  has  won  for  himself  lasting  honor,  and  his  name 
will  stand  high  among  the  friends  and  benefactors  of  Jefferson 
College.  The  Rev.  Joseph  M'Elroy,  D.  D.,  (then  of  Pitts- 
burgh,) was  chosen  a  trustee.  A  renewed  movement  for  Legis- 
lative aid,  was  also  made  at  this  time.  The  Rev.  Messrs. 
Ralston,  Ramsey,  and  Johnston,  were  appointed  a  Committee 
to  select  and  recommend  a  system  of  Metaphysics,  for  the  use 
of  the  College.  What  was  the  result  is  no  where  recorded. 
We  believe  that  the  old  scholastic  systems  of  Metaphysics  were 
never  much  in  vogue.  A  manuscript  Epitome  was  in  use  in 
Dr.  Dunlap's  time — perhaps  brought  by  him  from  Princeton. 
Dr.  Wylie  introduced  Reid  and  Stuart  on  Mental  Philosophy, 
in  lieu  of  the  old  metaphysics.  The  metaphysics  of  the  olden 
time  is  now  entirely  neglected,  and  its  entities  and  quiddities 
nearly  forgotten.     Requiescat  in  pace. 

In  April,  1820,  the  Roard  conferred  the  degree  of  A.  B. 
on  Wm.  Nesbitt,  John  Peebles,  Wm.  S.  Roberts,  Chas.  Ik 
Gilletts,  and  John  Kennedy.  And  at  their  fall  meeting,  in 
September,  on  Alexander  Campbell,  Alexander  Sharp,  Thos. 
Williamson,  M'Knight  Williamson,  and  Robt.  Crooks.  The 
Rev.  Elisha  P.  Swift,  D.  D.,  was  elected  trustee  in  place  of 
the  Rev.  Elisha  Macurdy,  resigned. 

The  committee  appointed  to  settle  with  Dr.  M'Millan  and 
C.  Ritchie,  executors  of  the  last  will  and  testament  of  Mrs. 
Margaret  Clark,  deceased,  reported  that  they  had  examined 
the  papers  and  vouchers  in  the  hands  of  the  executors  and 


104  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

found  them  correct,  and  that  there  now  remained  in  the  hands 
of  Dr.  M'Millan,  and  at  his  disposal,  $4,685.10.  Of  this 
sum  there  belonged  to  the  poor  fund,  $2,573.50,  and  to  the 
Trustees,  $2,111.00.  This  report  was  received  and  approved. 
In  April,  1821,  Mr.  A.  Anderson's  salary  was  increased  $50. 
The  Legislature  had  passed  an  Act,  making  an  appropriation 
of  $1,000  to  aid  the  funds  of  the  College,  and  at  this  meeting, 
C.  Ritchie,  Esq.,  was  authorized  to  draw  on  the  State  Trea- 
surer for  that  amount.  Messrs.  Geo.  Buchanan,  Wm.  John- 
ston, John  Pinkerton,  and  Levin  Rogers,  received  the  degree 
of  A.  B. 

In  September,  Joseph  B.  Adams,  Lewis  W.  Andrexcs,  Rich- 
ard Campbell,  Meredith  Helm,  John  Hunter,  Wm.  M'  Connell, 
David  M' Kinney,  iSamuel  Reed,  and  Aaron  Torrcnce,  were 
admitted  to  the  degree  of  A.  B.  * 

Mr.   Anderson  having  resigned  his  office  as  Professor  of 

*  Wo  find  on  the  printed  Records  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  October  6th, 
1820,  this  minute  :  ''The  following  resolutions,  relating  to  the  establishment 
of  a  Theological  Seminary  in  the  bounds  of  this  Synod,  were  brought  before 
Synod,  viz: 

"  1st.  Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  for  this  Synod,  to  take  measures  ta 
establish  a  Theological  Seminary  within  their  bounds. 

"2d.  Resolved,  That  the  said  Seminar}-  shall  be  located  in  theborough  ot 
Washington,  Pennsylvania,  upon  the  following  conditions :  1st.  That  tho 
Boards  of  Trustees  of  the  Colleges  of  Washington  and  Jefferson,  shall  enter 
into  an  agreement  to  unite  the  said  Colleges,  with  a  stipulation,  that  tho 
united  literary  institution  shall  be  established  at  C&nonsburg.  2d.  That  the 
united  College  shall  agree  to  appropriate  tbe  College  premises  and  buildings 
thereon  erected  in  Washington,  and  also  the  funds,  or  a  proportion  thereoi, 
for  the  use  of  a  Theological  Seminary,  a  Professorship  or  Professorships,  tc 
bo  therein  established,  with  tho  concurrence  of  this  Synod.  3d.  That  an 
act  of  tho  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  be  obtained,  should  the  same  be  found 
necessary,  to  sanction  the  measures  aforesaid.  4th.  That  these  resolutions 
bo  submitted  to  the  Boards  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  Colleges,  and,  pro- 
vided the  respective  Boards  concur  therein,  that  commissioners  be  appointed 
to  take  measures  to  prepare  the  eontempiatetl  plan  fer  the  consideration  of 
tkc  next  Synod. 

u  Rein/rn/,  That  (ho  motion  to  adopt  theso  resolutions  bo  postponed,  in 
order  to  introduce  a  substitute,  viz :  That  the  first  two  resolutions,  with  tho 


NEW   PRESIDENTS   AND    "COLLEGE   WAR."  105 

Languages,  Mr.  Win.  Smith  (now  the  Rev.  Dr.  Smith)  was 
2ieeted  in  his  place.  Upon  his  signifying  his  acceptance,  the 
jsual  oath  of  office  was  administered  to  him.  In  April,  1822, 
the  Board  recorded  that  Thos.  Byers,  one  of  the  executors 
■)f  the  last  will  and  testament  of  John  M'Pherrin,  deceased, 
•iad  paid  to  the  Treasurer,  $2,033.25,  the  original  sum 
>equcathcd  to  the  Trustees  of  Jefferson  College,  the  interest 
of  which  is  to  be  applied  to  the  education  of  poor  and  pious 
youth  for  the  gospel  ministry;  togetherwith  $125,  of  interest 
arisen  therefrom.  This  money,  Messrs.  Ritchie  and  Monroe 
were  appointed  to  lend  out  on  sufficient  security.  Hiss  Mary 
Armitage  presented  a  gold  watch,  valued  at  $50,  to  aid  the 
funds  of  the  College,  and  $10  of  which  were  returned  to  her, 
with  the  thanks  of  the  Board  for  her  valuable  gift. 

Vacancies  in  the  Board  were  filled  :  but  as  we  have  now 
reached  a  period  when  this  item  of  history  can  possess  little 
interest,  we  will  not  further  notice  it. 

Mr.  Ritchie  reported  the  receipt  of  the  State  donation. 
Messrs.  J.  Claybangh,  Adam  GiUiland,  John  Pitkin  and 
Benj.  Spittman,  were  admitted  to  the  degree  of  A.  B.  The 
Board  also  agreed  to  confer  the  same  degree  on  John  Closkey, 

conditions  annexed  to  the  second,  bo  referred  to  the  Boards  of  the  Trustees 
of  the  Colleges  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  for  their  consideration. 

"  On  motion,  Resolved,  That  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Thos.  Marquis,  Thos.  Hoge, 
James  Harvey,  and  Wm.  Johnston,  with  James  Hare,  elder,  be  a  Committee 
to  confer  with  the  Boards  of  Jefferson  and  Washington  Colleges  on  these 
resolutions,  and  report  at  the  next  meeting  of  Synod  ,•  and  that  the  stated 
clerk  furnish  a  copy  thereof  to  each  Board  of  Trustees,  and  that  it  be  recom- 
mended to  this  Committee  to  endeavor  to  effect  a  meeting  with  said  Boards 
on  the  subject,  in  April  next,  or  sooner,  if  found  practicable." 

There  is  no  evidence  that  this  paper  ever  came  before  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  Jefferson  College.  They  have  taken  no  notice  of  it  on  their  records.  It 
would,  apparently,  have  been  an  admirable  scheme,  could  it  have  been  carried 
out.  Why  it  was  altogether  dropped  or  neglected,  we  are  at  a  loss  to  explain. 
The  Committee  made  no  report  at  the  next  meeting,  "but  by  information 
received  from  a  member  of  the  committee,  it  does  not  appear  probable  that 
such  a  union  can  now  be  effected."  The  committee  were  discharged,  and 
that  was  an  end  of  the  whole  matter. 


106  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

James  Johnston,  John  M'Cluskey,  Ebenezer  Monroe,  and 
John  Smart. 

It  was  also  determined  at  this  meeting,  in  regard  to  the 
two  societies,  the  Philo  and  FranJrfin,  that  should  they,  at 
any  time,  violate  their  own  laws  and  regulations,  to  the  aggriev- 
ance  of  any  member  or  members,  they  shall  have  a  right  to 
appeal  to  the  Faculty,  and  the  Faculty  shall  be  governed  in 
their  investigation  of  such  appeals  by  the  laws  and  regulations 
of  the  societies — an  appeal  still  allowed  to  the  Board. 

In  August  of  that  year,  the  Board  was  called  together  to 
hear  and  investigate  charges  brought  by  the  Faculty  against 
several  students,  for  being  the  authors  and  promoters  of 
mutiny,  sedition,  and  rebellion  in  college ;  and  as  having  cir- 
culated calumny  and  slander  against  the  character  and  repu- 
tation of  the  Principal,  Mr.  Wm.  31' 31  Ulan.  Upon  a  full 
investigation,  the  charges  were  not  sustained.  But  the  stu- 
dents were  severely  censured  for  their  rash  and  precipitate 
conduct,  especially  in  their  treatment  of  the  Principal.  One 
student  had  published  in  the  Washington  Reporter,  a  publi- 
cation which,  in  appearance,  burlesqued  praying  societies  and 
associations  for  sustaining  pious  youth  ;  and  upon  his  disclaim- 
ing any  evil  intention,  and  making  proper  satisfaction,  and 
promising  to  state  the  matter  in  a  true  light,  in  the  same  paper, 
the  Board  accepted  his  explanation  and  promise,  and  let  him 
escape  any  further  action  of  the  Board.  Whereupon,  the 
Rev.  Principal  M'Millan  publicly  declared  his  resignation, 
which  was  accepted  :  and  the  Rev.  Wm.  Smith  was  appointed 
to  take  charge  of  the  College,  in  the  room  of  Mr.  M'Millan, 
until  the  next  meeting  of  the  Board  ;  and  was  farther  author- 
ized, in  conjunction  with  Messrs.  Ramsey  and  Ritchie,  to 
employ  a  teacher  of  languages  until  that  time.  At  the  Sep- 
tember meeting,  Messrs.  Morrow,  Livingston,  Martin,  Frazier, 
Shellady,  and  Brown,  were  admitted  to  the  degree  of  A.  B. 
At  this  meeting,  the  Rev.  3Iatthexo  Brown,  D.  D.,  was  duly 
elected  Principal  of  the  College,  with  a  salary  of  $800.     This 


NEW  PRESIDENTS   AND    "COLLEGE   WAR."  107 

was  one  of  the  most  important  events  that  ever  occurred  in 
the  history  of  Jefferson  College.  But  we  must  begin  a  new 
chapter  in  further  proof  and  explanation  of  this  remark.  Dr. 
Smith  received  $50  for  his  extra  labors,  and  his  salary  was 
thenceforward  raised  to  $300  per  annum.  What  he  then 
received  from  Miller's  Run  congregation  for  his  faithful  min- 
isterial and  pastoral  services,  we  have  not  learned.  In  the 
mean  time,  before  we  close  this  chapter,  we  deem  this  the 
proper  place  to  state  how  it  came  about  that  Jefferson  College 
obtained  the  distinguished  services  of  Dr.  Brown — -a  man  who, 
but  a  few  years  before,  was  President  of  Washington  College. 
This  singular  circumstance  is  so  well  explained  by  a  writer 
in  the  Presbyterian  Advocate,  January  4,  1854,  believed  to 
be  James  Veech,  Esq.,  of  the  Uniontown  bar,  that  we  shall 
not  hesitate  to  adopt  his  statement,  which  is  as  follows  : 
"The  College  War  of  1816-1818  had  ended.  Dr.  Brown's 
first  wife  had  died.  The  conflict  had  made  him  enemies  who 
seemed  to  have  triumphed.  His  usefulness,  as  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  had  seemed  to  have  been  impeded. 
Strife  and  affliction  had  sunk  his  spirits  and  marred  his  hap- 
piness. He  began  seriously,  though  with  much  reluctance,  to 
think  of  a  new  field  of  labor.  In  this  state  of  mind,  the  late 
eminent  and  estimable  Dr.  Griffin,  who  had  been  invited  to 
the  Presidency  of  Danville  College,  on  his  return  from  the 
West,  spent  a  night  with  Dr.  Brown,  at  Washington,  and 
communicated  to  him  the  conclusion  he  had  come  to,  not  to 
accept ;  and  thereupon  suggested  the  station  to  his  friend,  Dr. 
Brown.  The  suggestion  was  favorably  received  and  enter- 
tained. Dr.  Griffin  thereupon  wrote  to  the  Centre  College 
Trustees,  recommending  Dr.  Brown  to  them  in  strong  terms. 
In  this  he  was  zealously  and  efficiently  seconded  by  the  late 
Rev.  Andrew  Todd,  who  was  a  student  of  Washington  Col- 
lege at  the  time  of  the  disruption,  and  a  devoted  adherent 
of  the  Ex-President.  In  due  time,  the  Danville  Board  offered 
to  Dr.  Brown  the  Presidency  of  Centre  College.     He  there- 


108  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

upon  went  to  the  West,  to  Kentucky,  to  Danville  j  aud 
looked  into  the  prospects  and  position  of  the  new  College — 
favorably.  This  was  in  1821  or  1822.  He  did  not,  however, 
then  give  a  definitive  answer  to  the  offer,  further  than  to  say 
to  the  Board  that  he  would  duly  consider  the  matter,  and  if 
the  way  was  clear,  and  God  and  duty  pointed  him  to  it,  he 
would  go,  if  his  Presbytery  would  dismiss  him  from  his 
church  at  Washington,  for  that  purpose.  Soon  after  his 
return  home,  he  informed  the  Danville  Board  that  he  accepted 
the  offered  Presidency,  subject  to  the  condition  last  above 
named.  In  this  state  of  things,  and  preparatory  to  his 
removal,  Dr.  Brown  procured  a  special  meeting  of  his  Pres- 
bytery, to  be  called  to  meet  in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer 
of  1822,  to  dismiss  him  from  his  charge.  And  in  confident 
anticipation  of  the  desired  dismissal  being  voted  for,  he, 
during  that  summer,  visited  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania, 
to  see  old  friends,  and  settle  some  secular  business.  On  his 
return,  he  stayed  all  night  in  the  '  forks'  neighborhood,  and 
then,  for  the  first,  heard  of  what  was  called  '  the  Rebellion,' 
in  Jefferson  College,  and  the  resignation  of  the  President, 
Rev.  Wm.  M'Millan.  On  his  further  progress  homeward,  he 
stopped  to  dine  with  his  ancient  and  trusty  friend,  the  late 
Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Ralston,  *  then,  and  for  many  years  before 
and  after,  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Jefferson 
College.  The  exciting  proceedings  which  had  lately  trans- 
pired at  Canonsburg,  were  of  course  spoken  of  during  the 
brief  visit.  But  nothing  was  said  about  the  Presidency, 
directly  or  indirectly,  until  just  as  Dr.  Brown  was  about  to 
mount  his  horse  for  home.  Dr.  Ralston,  who  knew  of  the 
pro  re  nata  meeting,  and  its  object,  significantly  inquired, 
'  Are  you  pledged  to  go  to  Danville  V     Dr.  B.  replied  that 


*  Whoover  has  read  Dr.  Ralston's  "Philologus,"  on  the  Collego  War,  will 
be  at  no  loss  to  discover  the  Irish  strength  and  fervency  of  his  friendship  to 
Dr.  Brown. 


NEW   PRESIDENTS   AND   "COLLEGE   WAR.''  109 

he  was,  if  his  Presbytery  would  dismiss  him  from  his  church. 
'  Very  well,  sir/  said  Dr.  R.,  'good  bye  ;  I  will  see  you  at 
Presbytery,  Grod  willing.'  The  meeting  of  Presbytery  came. 
Dr.  Ralston  was  there.  The  request  for  dismissal  was  regu- 
larly presented.  But  when  the  motion  to  bring  about  deci- 
sion came  to  be  made,  instead  of  being  '  that  the  request  be 
granted,'  the  latter  word  was,  to  the  surprise  of  Dr.  Brown, 
preceded  by  a  '  not.'  The  Rev.  Thos.  Hoge,  then  of  Wash- 
ington, Pa.,  was,  I  think,  named  as  the  mover.  The  request 
was,  however,  persisted  in,  and  urged  by  such  reasons  as  were 
pertinent  and  proper.  But  the  Presbytery  was  inexorable. 
The  request  was  flatly  though  kindly  denied ;  and  thus  the 
door  was  shut  against  Dr.  Brown  becoming  President  of  Cen- 
tre College,  Danville,  Kentucky,  which,  but  for  this  unusual 
action  of  his  Presbytery,  he  would  doubtless  have  soon  become. 
The  Presbytery  having  adjourned,  the  secret,  or  unavowed 
reasons,  were  explained  to  Dr.  B.  by  his  friends  ;  which  were 
in  substance  that  he  could  not  be  released  until  after  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  Jefferson  College  should  have  met  to  elect  a 
President ;  which  would  be  in  a  few  weeks  thereafter — the 
last  Wednesday  of  September,  1822,  and  if  he  were  not 
chosen,  then  he  might  be  let  go.  The  Jefferson  Board  met 
at  the  appointed  time.  On  the  night  of  that  day  Dr.  Brown 
was  elected  President  of  that  College — a  committee  was  dis- 
patched for  him  in  the  night,  who,  before  breakfast  the  next 
morning,  (Commencement  day,)  returned  with  the  President 
elect ;  who,  before  nine  o'clock,  took  the  oath  of  office,  and 
on  that  day,  within  eighteen  hours  of  his  election,  conferred 
degrees,  and  made  a  brief  impromptu  Baccalaureate  address, 
as  President  of  the  Faculty  of  Jefferson  College.  '  In  all 
this,'  said  the  Doctor,  in  his  relation  of  it,  '  events  crowded 
upon  me  so  fast  and  so  heavy,  that  I  had  no  time  to  reflect 
and  deliberate.  Had  time  been  given  me  I  might  have 
declined.  But  I  thought  I  saw  in  it  the  finger  of  Providence, 
and  I  became  passive  in  his  arms.'  The  event  was  one  of 
10 


110         HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE. 

great  joy  and  gladness  to  the  eighty  students  then  at  Jeffer- 
son College,  and  to  the  friends  of  that  time-honored  Institu- 
tion. It  was  hailed  as  an  omen  of  prosperity,  and  a  triumph 
of  retributive  justice.  It  was  an  event  from  which  untold 
benefits  and  blessings  have  resulted,  not  only  to  that  College 
and  its  hundreds  of  students,  but  to  thousands  of  the  human 
race,  to  whom,  through  them,  Dr.  Brown  became,  under  God, 
by  his  pre-eminent  capacities  for  government  and  instruction, 
and  by  his  piety  and  prayers,  a  benefactor  of  the  highest 
order  to  which  humanity  can  attain." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

DR.    M.    BROWN'S   PRESIDENCY. 

A  new  era  in  the  state  and  prospects  of  Jefferson  College — Dr.  Brown's 
extraordinary  character  and  qualifications — Connection  of  Jefferson  Col- 
lege with  Jefferson  Medical  College  in  Philadelphia — Jacob  Green,  Esq. — 
Literary  Societies  in  difficulties — Theological  Seminary  of  the  Associate 
Presbyterian  Church  established  at  Canonsburg — New  College  building 
in  1829-32.  Crisis  in  the  life  Dr.  M'Millan;  Death  of  his  old  friends, 
Prof.  Miller  and  C.  Ritchie,  Esq.  ;  their  lives  and  character — Agricultural 
labor  provided  for  students  by  a  College  farm ;  its  ultimate  failure ;  reflec- 
tions about  it — Recent  movement  by  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  for  Ecclesiasti- 
cal supervision — Its  failure ;  reasons — Aids  to  be  sought  in  investigating 
that  whole  subject — General  winding  up  of  the  whole  subject 

We  are  now  entering  on  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  this 
Institution.  Under  the  administration  of  Dr.  M.  Brown, 
which  extended  over  the  long  period  of  twenty-two  years, 
the  College  rapidly  advanced  in  its  glorious  career.  Never 
was  there,  perhaps,  a  more  popular,  or  a  more  successful  Presi- 
dent. He  was  peculiarly  gifted  with  qualities  of  head  and 
heart  that  secured  to  him  the  affection  and  respect  of  the  stu- 
dents, both  while  under  his  watchful  care,  and  through  after 
life,  however  long  they  might  be  separated  from  him,  and  in 
whatever  walks  of  life  they  might  be  found.  The  pious  stu- 
dents were  generally  ardently  attached  to  him ;  and  the  wildest 
and  most  reckless  respected  and  venerated  him  ;  and,  in  many 
instances,  would  speak  of  him,  years  after  their  residence  in 
distant  parts  of  the  country,  with  a  degree  of  affection  that 
was  often  surprising.  Yet  he  was  constitutionally  of  a  hasty, 
passionate  spirit,  and  would  often  rebuke  the  students  in  the 
most  unmerciful  manner.     Yet,  somehow,  he  always  had  the 

(111) 


112  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

art  of  making  up  his  quarrels  with  them,  without  losing  their 
respect,  or  his  authority.  He  was  certainly  the  most  remark- 
able man  of  our  day,  for  the  possession  of  qualities  apparently 
the  most  incompatible,  but  strangely  and  happily  balancing 
each  other.  Into  many  a  scrape,  his  impetuous  feelings  would 
hurry  him ;  and  yet  he  hardly  ever  failed  to  recover  himself 
with  grace  and  manliness.  He  had  an  admirable  talent  for 
governing  a  college.  The  success  of  his  long  presidential 
career  was  a  complete  proof  of  this.  But  his  reculiar  talent 
for  canvassing  and  electioneering,  among  the  people  of  all 
classes,  in  favor  of  the  College,  was  not  less  remai-kable.  In 
this  respect,  he  did  more  for  Jefferson  College  than  all  others 
put  together.  He  was,  in  fact,  an  eccentric  man ;  and  yet 
never  was  eccentricity  more  completely  governed  by  good  sense 
and  sound  judgment.  His  very  oddities  and  personal  mental 
peculiarities  contributed  to  his  usefulness,  and  to  the  success 
of  the  Institution  over  which  he  so  long  and  so  efficiently  pre- 
sided. It  was  an  auspicious  day,  when,  on  the  24th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1822,  Dr.  Brown  was  elected  Principal  of  Jefferson 
College. 

In  April,  1823,  the  Board  granted  the  degree  of  A.  B.  to 
James  Arbuthnot,  Wells  Bushnell,  John  Cunningham,  Boyd 
Emory,  Sen.,  Boyd  Emory,  Jr.,  James  C.  Hall,  llobt.  Henry, 
Samuel  Jennings,  John  Lee,  George  Lyon,  Robt.  Moody, 
Alex.  Maeklin,  James  Nourse,  Win.  Pollock,  Moses  Roney, 
Josiah  Scott,  Andrew  Wilson,  and  Benjamin  Yoe.  Many  of 
these  will  be  recognized  as  living  ministers  of  the  gospel,  in 
various  ecclesiastical  connections,  or  as  respectable  members 
of  other  professions.  We  have  now  reached  a  period  when 
we  think  it  expedient  to  close  the  further  mention  of  the 
graduates,  as  they  are  mostly  still  among  the  living,  and  our 
cotemporarics.  We  shall,  however,  give  their  names  in  an 
appendix.  In  the  fall,  the  Board  took  Mr,  M'Millan's  house 
off  his  hands,  at  $1,000,  and  took  back  the  old  lot,  exone- 
rating him  from  $550,  which  he  was  to  have  paid  for  it.     At 


DR.    M.    BROWN'S   PRESIDENCY.  113 

this  time  the  degi-ee  of  D.  D.  was  conferred  on  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
F.  Herron  and  Robt.  Bruce,  of  Pittsburgh. 

In  1824,  the  Board  was  called  together  in  June,  to  delibe- 
rate upon  an  extraordinary  communication  just  received  from 
Philadelphia,  which  led  speedily  to  a  new  feature  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  College,  and,  for  a  while,  to  a  new  element  in  her 
prosperity.  We  refer  to  the  establishment  of  the  Jefferson 
Medical  College  in  Philadelphia,  under  the  wing  and  charter 
of  our  College.  The  following  letter  was  laid  before  the 
Board  : 

"  Gentlemen : — The  undersigned,  believing,  upon  mature 
consideration,  that  the  establishment  of  a  second  medical 
school  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  will  be  advantageous  to  the 
public,  not  less  than  to  themselves,  have  formed  themselves 
into  a  Medical  Faculty,  with  the  intention  of  establishing  such 
a  school,  and  they  hereby  offer  to  the  Trustees  of  Jefferson 
College  to  become  connected  with  that  Institution,  on  the 
conditions  herewith  submitted  ;  subject  to  such  modifications, 
as  on  a  full  and  free  explanation,  shall  be  found  satisfactory 
to  the  parties  severally  concerned.  The  undersigned  beg  leave 
to  submit  herewith,  the  plan  which  they  have  devised,  for 
forming  the  Faculty  contemplated,  and  for  conducting  the 
concerns  of  the  same — open  to  amendments  and  alterations 
in  the  manner  already  proposed. 

"  Signed  by  order  of  the  Faculty, 

"  Joseph  Klapp,  M.  D., 
"  George  M'Clelland,  M.  D., 
"  John  Eberle,  M.  D., 
"Jacob  Green,  Esq.* 
"Philadelphia,  June  2,  1824." 

After   some  discussion   and   due  deliberation,  the  Board 
adopted  the  following  resolutions,  viz  :     "  1st.  That  it  is  expe- 
dient to  establish  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  a  Medical  Fac- 
10* 


114  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEUE. 

ulty,  as  a  constituent  part  of  Jefferson  College,  to  be  styled 
the  <  Jefferson  Medical  College.'  2d.  That  the  Faculty  of 
the  Medical  College  shall  consist  of  the  following  professor- 
ships :  1st — a  professorship  of  Anatomy  ;  2d — of  Surgery  ; 
3d — of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine;  4th — of  Materia 
Medica,  Botany  and  the  Institutes ;  5th — of  Chemistry,  Min- 
eralogy, and  Pharmacy ;  6th — of  Midwifery,  and  the  diseases 
of  women  and  children.  3d.  That  whenever  a  vacancy  shall 
occur  by  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise,  it  shall  be  filled  by 
a  gentleman  who  shall  be  nominated  by  the  remaining  Pro- 
fessors, or  a  majority  of  them,  and  appointed  by  the  Trustees 
of  the  College.  4th.  That  a  Professor  may  be  removed  by 
the  Board  of  Trustees,  with  the  consent  of  a  majority  of  the 
other  medical  Professors,  after  a  fair  and  full  investigation  of 
the  alleged  causes  for  the  removal ;  but  in  no  other  way. 
5th.  That  the  Medical  School  shall  have  no  claims  wbatever 
on  the  funds  of  Jefferson  College.  6th.  That  the  medical 
Professors  shall  make  arrangements  among  themselves  for  the 
time  and  place  of  lecturing,  for  examinations,  and  for  the  gen- 
eral benefit  of  the  school :  the  time  for  conferring  medical 
degrees  shall  be  determined  by  the  Trustees,  on  the  represen- 
tation of  the  medical  Faculty.  The  same  fee  shall  be  paid 
to  the  President  of  the  College  by  the  graduates  for  a  degree, 
as  for  a  degree  in  the  arts.  7th.  That  this  College  shall  use 
a  suitable  influence  to  send  medical  pupils  to  the  medical 
school  connected  with  it  in  Philadelphia ;  and  the  medical 
Faculty  shall  promote  in  every  way  the  interest  and  prosperity 
of  the  College.  8th.  That  the  young  men  who  have  attended 
one  Course  of  lectures,  in  any  respectable  medical  Institution, 
shall  be  admitted  to  a  standing,  in  all  respects,  equal  to  the 
one  they  had  left.  9th.  That  ten  indigent  young  men  of 
talents,  who  shall  bring  to  the  medical  Faculty  satisfactory 
testimonials  and  certificates,  shall  be  annually  received  into 
the  medical  school,  receive  its  medical  instructions,  and  be 
entitled  to  its  honors,  without  any  charge.     10th.  That  the 


DR.  m.  brown's  presidency.  115 

following  persons,  duly  elected,  be  and  they  are  hereby 
appointed  to  the  following  professorships,  viz  :  Doctor  George 
M'  Clelland,  Professor  of  Surgery ;  Doctor  Joseph  Klaj>p, 
Professor  of  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine ;  Doctor  John 
Eberle,  Professor  of  Materia  Medica ;  Jacob  Green,  Esq., 
Professor  of  Chemistry,  Mineralogy  and  Pharmacy.  11th. 
That  the  President  of  the  Board  be,  and  he  hereby  is  appointed 
to  forward  these  resolutions  to  the  Professors  elect,  and  to 
hold  any  necessary  correspondence  with  them  on  the  subject 
until  the  next  meeting  of  the  Board." 

Toward  the  close  of  the  following  year,  the  Trustees  applied 
to  the  Legislature,  and  obtained  an  enlargement  of  their  char- 
ter, authorizing  them  to  appoint  ten  trustees  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia — not  more  than  four  of  whom  to  be  ministers 
of  the  gospel — and  authorizing  any  Judge  of  the  Supreme  or 
District  Courts  to  administer  the  oath  of  office  to  the  Profes- 
sors and  Trustees  :  and  then,  in  1826,  the  Trustees,  at  a  June 
meeting,  elected  the  following  Trustees,  in  Philadelphia,  for 
the  superintendence  of  their  Medical  Department,  viz  :  Rev. 
Ashbel  Green,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Jacob  J.  Janeway,  D.  D.,  and  the 
Rev.  Ezra  Styles  Ely,  D.  D.,  together  with  Edward  Ingersoll, 
Joel  B.  Sutherland,  Samuel  Badger,  Win.  Duncan,  and  James 
Broom;  and  they  were  directed,  as  soon  as  qualified  and 
organized,  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the  Institution,  and 
report  to  the  Board  at  Canonsburg.  They  also  created  another 
Professorship  of  the  Institutes  of  Medicine  and  Medical  Juris- 
prudence, and  elected  Dr.  Win.  C  P.  Barton  to  fill  that  chair. 
Two  months  after,  in  August,  the  Board  elected  Messrs. 
Edward  King,  Samuel  Humphreys,  and  Charles  C  Cox,  addi- 
tional Trustees  for  the  Medical  College,  and  six  of  the  whole 
Board  was  to  form  a  quorum.  Dr.  Green  also  was  appointed 
chairman.  In  1828,  the  Board  surrendered  more  entirely  the 
whole  concern  to  the  Philadelphia  Board,  and  agreed  that 
their  decisions,  in  all  cases,  should  take  effect  without  waiting 
for  the  confirmation  of  the  same  at  Canonsburg ;  and  only 


116  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

retaining  the  right  of  reversing  their  proceedings,  if,  in  their 
judgments,  the  interests  of  the  Institution  required  it.  One 
important  result,  which  grew  out  of  this  matter,  was,  that  an 
arrangement  was  made  in  1828,  to  secure  the  services  of  one 
of  the  Professors  of  the  Medical  College,  Jacob  Green,  Esq., 
to  come  out  to  Canonsburg  and  deliver  a  series  of  lectures  on 
Chemistry,  Mineralogy,  etc.,  during  a  part  of  the  summer 
sessions.  And  certain  perquisites,  arising  principally  from 
matriculation  fees  at  the  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia, 
were  appropriated  as  a  compensation  for  his  services.  The 
interest  of  the  last  appropriation  from  the  State,  was  also 
employed  to  purchase  chemical  and  philosophical  apparatus, 
and  enlarge  the  College  Libraries.  And  §300  also  from  the 
funds  of  the  Board,  were  employed  for  the  same  purpose. 
In  1833,  the  Board  appropriated  $100  for  the  payment  of 
Prof.  Green's  services,  as  Professor  of  Chemistry,  &c.  Thus, 
through  successive  years,  was  this  arrangement  continued. 
The  Chemical  Laboratory  and  Apparatus  were  enlarged  from 
time  to  time,  and  much  advantage  to  the  College  and  to  the 
interests  of  science  was  the  result. 

But  to  return.  The  Board,  at  their  meeting,  April,  1825 
provided  that  the  students  should  be  allowed  to  occupy  th. 
vacant  rooms  of  the  new  College  edifice,  as  lodging  rooms  * 
that  the  education  funds  should  be  appropriated  for  the  accom- 
modation of  their  Beneficiaries,  in  this  way ;  and  that  Ben- 
jamin Williams  and  John  Philips  should  be  a  committee,  in 
connection  with  the  Faculty,  to  arrange  these  matters. 

It  appears  that  up  to  the  year  1826,  the  decisions  at  the 
contests,  held  by  the  two  Literary  societies,  were  made  by  the 
Trustees.  The  Philo  Society  asked,  by  petition,  at  this  time, 
that  the  Board  should  hereafter  discontinue  this  usage.  The 
Board  advised  the  Philo  Society  to  invite  the  Franklin  Society 
to  a  friendly  conference  by  committees,  and  get  the  whole 
matter  adjusted  in  whatever  way  they  should  mutually  deter- 
mine upon,  in  regard  to  this  point.     In  January,  1827,  the 


DR.    M.    BROWN'S   PRESIDENCY.  117 

two  societies  applied  to  the  Board  to  settle  this  difficulty,  and 
establish  some  order  or  rule  about  the  matter.  The  Board 
informed  them  that  they  had  never,  by  any  formal  act  of  the 
Board,  heretofore  acted  in  the  case,  and  suggested  to  the 
societies  that  hereafter  it  would  best  comport  with  the  har- 
mony of  the  College,  and  the  peculiar  nature  of  these  literary 
exhibitions,  that  the  comparative  merits  of  the  respective  per- 
formers should  rest  upon  the  impartial  decision  of  the  spec- 
tators generally.  Whether  the  societies  adopted  the  course 
suggested,  and  how  long,  we  are  not  informed.  They  soon 
agreed  upon  the  plan  of  selecting  judges  of  the  Contest,  each 
society  choosing  a  certain  number,  and  they,  perhaps,  choosing 
an  umpire.  And  on  this  plan  the  thing  is  managed  to  this 
day. 

In  1827,  the  State  Legislature  granted  another  appropria- 
tion of  $1,000,  and  the  same  amount  for  each  of  two  or  three 
successive  years.  There  is  also  a  notice  on  their  Records, 
March  27,  1833,  of  $2,000,  "  as  an  installment  due  from  the 
Legislature  on  the  first  of  the  ensuing  May."  It  would  seem 
that  the  Legislature  had  passed  an  act,  some  years  before, 
granting  an  appropriation,  by  yearly  installments.  The  whole 
amount  we  do  not  know. 

In  1828,  the  Rev.  Robt.  Baird,  D.  D.,  was  appointed  Pro- 
fessor of  Languages,  and  Dr.  Smith  was  transferred  to  tho 
Mathematical  chair.  But  as  Dr.  Baird  declined  the  appoint- 
ment, Dr.  Smith  was  continued  in  his  former  chair.  In  1829, 
the  Associate  Body,  or  the  Seceders,  as  they  are  commonly 
called,  located  their  Theological  Seminary  at  Canonsburg ; 
and  as  they  had  not,  for  some  time,  the  requisite  buildings, 
the  Trustees  resolved  "that  the  two  rooms  on  the  north-west 
corner  of  the  College  be  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  Asso- 
ciate Church  of  North  America,  for  their  Library  and  Theo- 
logical Hall,  until  they  shall  have  time  to  provide  other  buil- 
dings ;  and  that  public  ground  be  afforded  them,  if  they  wish 
to  build  in  this  place."     This  body,  however,  did  not  avail 


118  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

themselves  of  this  last  pToposal — judging  wisely  that  the 
Theological  Seminary  should  he,  on  many  accounts,  removed 
to  some  distance  from  the  College  buildings.  They  chose  an 
eligible  site  on  the  left  side  of  the  Washington  road,  near  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  borough  ;  and  there  the  Seminary 
has  long  flourished.  They  have  recently  removed  the  Insti- 
tution to  Xenia,  Ohio.  The  above  arrangement,  afforded  to 
them  for  their  temporary  accommodation,  was  not  only  for  the 
interest  of  the  College,  but  was  justly  due  to  a  church  whose 
members  had  always  been  the  staunch  friends  of  Jefferson 
College  from  its  earliest  days.  Old  Mr.  Henderson,  we  have 
already  seen,  was  actively  concerned  in  fixing  the  Academy  at 
Canonsburg,  and  in  watching  over  its  interests  in  the  days  of 
its  childhood.  The  Chartiers  Presbytery  of  that  body  like- 
wise united  with  the  Presbyteries  of  Ohio  and  Redstone,  in 
vigorous  efforts  to  sustain  the  Institution,  when,  but  for  their 
united  efforts,  it  must,  in  all  probability,  have  gone  down  to 
rise  no  more.  Dr.  Ramsey,  also,  the  successor  of  Mr.  Hen- 
derson, in  the  pastoral  charge  of  that  large  and  respectable 
Seceder  congregation,  in  the  vicinity  of  Canonsburg,  was, 
through  a  long  life,  a  most  devoted  friend  and  patron  of  Jef- 
ferson College — always  an  active  member  of  the  Board,  whilst 
in  it,  and  for  many  years  the  Hebrew  Professor  in  College. 
Jefferson  College  owes  much  to  Dr.  Ramsey  and  the  respecta- 
ble body  of  Christians  of  which  he  was  a  greatly  honored  and 
respectable  minister.  He  was  also  one  of  the  first  Professors 
in  their  Theological  Seminary.  In  the  Appendix  will  be 
found  some  further  notice  of  him  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Bev- 
ridge. 

In  1829,  the  Board  took  measures  to  erect  a  new  building, 
so  as  to  afford  a  spacious  hall,  and  also  a  sufficient  number  of 
rooms  for  recitation,  library,  apparatus,  &c,  and  having  the 
basement  story  so  constructed  as  to  furnish  accommodation 
for  a  refectory  and  dining  room.  Measures  were  also  adopted 
to  raise  the  necessary  funds.     Dr.  Brown  was  appointed  agent 


DR.    M.    BROWN'S   PRESIDENCY.  119 

for  this  purpose,  and  his  salary  increased.  The  Board  deter- 
mined that  $1,000  should  be  the  endowment,  for  a  perpetual 
scholarship,  for  the  education  of  a  poor  student,  designed  for 
the  gospel  ministry.  This  arrangement  was  adopted,  perhaps, 
with  a  view,  in  part,  to  invite  contributions  towards  the  new 
building  contemplated.  The  tuition,  also,  was  raised  this  year 
to  $25  per  annum.  In  the  fall  of  this  year,  having  received 
an  encouraging  account  of  Dr.  Brown's  success  in  raising 
funds,  and  having  appointed  the  whole  Faculty  as  agents  for 
further  efforts,  authorizing  them  to  appoint  sub-agents,  with 
subscription  papers,  the  Trustees  now  felt  themselves  warranted 
to  appoint  a  building  committee,  (Messrs.  Williams,  Philips, 
Monroe  and  Allen,')  to  examine  as  to  the  site  and  dimensions  of 
the  building,  the  propriety  of  purchasing  additional  ground,  the 
expense  of  erection,  &c,  &c,  and  to  receive  proposals.  Early 
in  the  following  year,  the  Board  received  their  report,  and 
proceeded  forthwith  in  this  important  enterprise.  In  the 
course  of  less  than  two  years,  this  building  was  ready  for  use. 
The  Trustees  held  their  first  meeting  in  it,  March  27,  1833, 
and  called  it,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Rev.  Moses  Allen, 
Providence  Hall.  This  is  a  spacious  edifice — sixty  feet  by 
ninety  in  size — furnishing  a  magnificent  hall,  where  now  Com- 
mencements and  Contests  are  held,  and  where  public  worship 
is  also  conducted  every  Sabbath ;  and  it  serves  as  a  house  of 
worship  for  the  Presbyterian  congregation  of  Canonsburg. 
Whether  Dr.  M'Millan  ever  preached  in  Providence  Hall,  we 
are  not  informed.  His  death  occurred  November  16,  1833. 
He  had  lived,  however,  to  see  this  building  finished  and  occu- 
pied. It  does  not  appear  that  he  was  present  at  the  meetings 
of  the  Board  for  the  last  few  years  of  his  life.  He  had  been 
Secretary  and  Treasurer  for  ten  years,  from  1817  to  1827. 
There  is  no  record  of  his  having  resigned  his  seat  as  a  Trus- 
tee, and  it  is  probable  he  did  not  resign.  But  his  age  and 
growing  infirmities,  perhaps,  prevented  his  attendance  at  the 


120  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGb 

meetings  of  the  Trustees  for  some  time  before  bis  deatb.  But 
be  lived  to  see  this  last  edifice  completed.  And  now,  when 
from  his  home  in  the  country  he  would  visit  Canonsburg, 
how  contrasted  the  view  of  the  College  buildings  and  the 
town,  with  that  scene  which  he  first  beheld  when  descending 
the  hill  east  of  Chartiers  creek  in  1775,  or  1776.  Then  a 
single  log  cabin  occupied  the  site  of  Canonsburg,  with,  per- 
haps, a  few  acres  of  cleared  ground  around  it.  Now  his  aged 
eyes  rested  upon  that  thriving  village,  and  its  home  of  science 
and  literature.  How  often  had  his  heart  throbbed  with  anx- 
iety for  its  interests,  and  even  for  its  continued  existence,  more 
than  once  in  imminent  peril.  And  when  he  remembered 
how  many  bad  been  trained  already  there,  who  were  now 
preaching  the  everlasting  gospel,  far  and  wide  over  the  West, 
and  how  some  who,  in  poverty  and  in  russet  garb,  had  once 
been  there,  and  had  struggled  on  through  many  difficulties, 
till  they  were  prepared  to  go  forth  as  heralds  of  the  Cross — 
had  early  sunk  to  the  grave,  and  been  called  home  to  their 
rest ;  when  he  remembered  how  G-od  had  blessed  with  com- 
plete success,  the  efforts  and  struggles  of  himself  and  his  fel- 
low-laborers, in  the  cause  of  that  College,  he  would,  perhaps, 
exclaim,  "  what  hath  the  Lord  wrought  V  The  remembrance 
of  these  early  associates  in  this  noble  enterprise,  would  per- 
haps bring  before  his  mind  the  names  and  persons  of  many 
,  of  those  that  were  sleeping  in  their  graves,  before  Providence 
Hall  was  built.  He  would  recollect  Henderson  and  Canon, 
and  M'Dowell  and  Anderson,  and  Allison  and  Brecken,  of 
those  earlier  times.  His  early  friend  and  step-brother,  Prof. 
Samuel  Miller,  had  but  recently  been  dismissed  to  his  hea- 
venly home,  in  a  good  old  age,  beloved  and  respected  by  all 
classes,  and  almost  idolized  by  all  the  students  that  had  ever 
been  at  Jefferson  College.  One  of  the  first  records  of  that 
first  meeting  of  the  Board  in  Providence  Hall,  reads  thus  : 
u  On  motion,  Resolved,  That  the  Treasurer  be  authorized  to 


DR.    M.    BROWN'S  PRESIDENCY.  121 

pay  C.  Ritchie  six  dollars,  for  the  College  expenses  on  the 
funeral  of  Prof.  Miller,  deceased."  * 


*  "  Mr.  Miller's  course  through  life  was  like  that  of  the  rivulet,  winding 
its  gentle  and  noiseless  and  healthful  way  among  the  spreading  elms  which 
line  its  margin,  and  serve  in  part  to  hide  its  surface  from  the  vulgar  gaze, 
it  was  very  rarely  that  his  own  history  formed  the  subject  of  his  conversation 
with  others  ,•  and  the  only  record  which  now  remains  is  that  inscribed  in  the 
hearts,  which  once  greeted  his  presence  and  profited  by  his  instructions." 
"  Samuel  Miller  was  born  on  the  4th  of  March,  1757,  at  Barrow  Water,  in 
the  county  of  Deny,  Ireland.  His  great-grandfather  emigrated  from  Scot- 
land during  the  persecutions  under  Charles  II,  at  which  time  his  estate  was 
confiscated,  on  account  of  his  attachment  to  the  principles  of  civil  and  reli- 
gious liberty,  and  bestowed  on  a  younger  and  more  pliable  member  of  the 
family.  The  subject  of  this  memoir  came  to  America  when  he  was  eleven 
years  of  age,  in  company  with  his  widowed  mother,  two  sisters,  and  a  brother- 
in-law.  Until  his  sixteenth  year,  he  resided  with  his  mother,  in  Chester 
eounty,  Pa.,  prosecuting  his  education  in  the  academy  of  a  Mr.  Law,  of 
whom  he  always  spoke  in  a  tender  and  respectful  manner.  At  sixteen,  ha 
began  to  teach  in  Chester  county,  and  for  fifty-seven  years,  with  but  two  short 
intervals,  ho  was  employed  in  giving  instruction.  His  first  temporary  aban- 
donment of  his  post  had  in  it  somothing  of  the  romantic.  He  had  been  occu- 
pied in  teaching  about  two  years.  An  old  acquaintance  appeared  at  his 
jchool-house,  commissioned  as  a  rocruiting  officer.  Our  teacher,  and  every 
i)upil  of  a  suitable  age,  were  induced  to  enlist  as  common  soldiers  for  one 
year.  Mr.  Miller  remained  in  the  service  during  eighteen  months.  He 
formed  one  of  the  '  Pennsylvania  Line,'  in  the  regiment  of  Col.  (afterwards 
*ien.)  Wayne,  and  breasted  the  shock  of  war  at  Brandywine,  Germantown, 
.nd  in  several  less  important  engagements.  It  is  believed  that  Mr.  Miller 
uight  have  obtained  a  pension  for  his  revolutionary  services,  but  he  never 
.aw  fit  to  apply  for  one.  On  retiring  from  the  army,  he  had  recourse  to  his 
old  employment.  At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  he  revisited  his 
native  country.  The  estate  which  now  foil  into  his  hands  induced  him  to 
think  of  a  less  laborious  mode  of  life.  On  his  return,  he  married  into  tho 
family  of  Mr.  John  Nesbit,  a  ruling  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church  of 
York,  Pa.  He  soon  after  embarked  in  mercantile  pursuits  at  Carlisle.  His 
speculations,  however,  proved  disastrous.  Our  merchant  was  constrained  to 
resume  his  former  employment,  and  was  doubtless  much  more  useful,  and 
probably  more  happy,  than  would  have  been  possible  in  the  line  of  life  pre- 
viously contemplated.  The  mathematical  chair  being  at  that  time  vacant  in 
Dickinson  College,  Mr.  Miller  was  persuaded  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  situa- 
tion. His  application  was  unsuccessful,  but  he  expressed  himself  to  be  fully 
satisfied  with  the  decision,  and  uniformly  spoke  of  his  successful  rival  (Mr. 
11 


122  HISTOBY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

M'Cormick,)  in  respectful  and  affectionate  terms.  This  professorship  was  in 
his  offer  at  an  after  period,  but  was  then  declined  by  him,  Providence  haying 
given  him  an  allottment  elsewhere,  with  which,  though  less  inviting  in  some 
respects,  he  was  very  well  satisfied.  In  1791,  he  came  to  the  West,  and 
taught  an  English  school  in  tho  neighborhood  of  Canonsburg.  lie  was 
appointed  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  Academy,  in  1792;  and  this 
appointment  was  renewed  in  1802,  after  the  College  charter  had  been  obtained. 
Prom  this  time,  until  his  resignation,  in  the  autumn  of  1830,  his  history  ia 
identified  with  that  of  Jefferson  Colloge.  He  was  its  friend  in  times  of  trial, 
and  contributed  a  full  share  to  its  prosperity.  In  grateful  remembrance  of 
his  fidelity,  he  was  appointed  honorary  Professor  for  life,  after  he  had  become 
unable  longer  to  discharge  the  active  duties  of  the  station.  From  the  time 
when  he  ceased  to  officiate  in  the  College,  his  physical  and  mental  faculties 
were  visibly  on  tho  wane ;  and  on  the  8th  of  June,  1832,  he  departed  with- 
out a  struggle,  aged  75  years,  3  months  and  4  days.  In  token  of  respect  to 
his  memory,  tho  ordinary  duties  in  College  were  suspended.  The  trustees, 
faculty  and  students,  walked  in  procossion  to  the  grave ;  and  on  the  evening 
following,  an  address  suited  to  the  occasion  was  delivered  by  the  President, 
in  the  College  Hall.  Some  portrait  will  be  expected  of  the  person  and  char- 
acter of  our  deceased  friend.  To  begin  with  tho  less  important,  we  will  give 
our  views  of  him  as  a  man.  His  personal  appearance  and  address  were  pre- 
possessing, notwithstanding  the  disadvantage  of  a  stature  a  little  below  the 
ordinary  size.  His  features  were  prominent  and  expressive;  his  eye  lively, 
and  always  lighted  with  the  smile  of  benignity;  his  health,  as  the  result  of 
s*riot  temperance  and  regular  exercise,  was  remarkably  vigorous,  until  he 
resigned  his  professorship.  His  manners  were  obviously  the  spontaneous 
effusions  of  a  spirit  which  breathed  good  will  to  all  around.  An  intelligent 
lady  made  the  remark,  that  she  was  never  in  his  society  without  a  lively 
impression  of  the  beauty  and  utility  of  courteousness.  He  was  naturally  a 
gentleman,  and  his  manners,  originally  amiable,  were  still  further  softened 
and  sanctified  by  kindly  and  Christian  principle.  No  one  was  ever  heard  to 
speak  disrespectfully  of  Mr.  Miller;  and  while  this  may  be  ascribed  in  part 
to  his  seclusion,  it  was  no  doubt  owing  mainly  to  his  suavity  of  temper  and 
manners.  In  Mr.  Miller,  as  a  Professor,  we  find  talents  of  a  very  high 
order.  He  attained  to  considerable  eminence  without  the  advantages  of  a 
thorough  academic  or  collegiate  education.  His  attainments  in  mental,  moral . 
and  theological  science,  were  creditable  ;  but  the  exact  and  physical  sciences 
were  those  best  suited  to  the  original  bias  of  his  mind,  and  those  to  which 
his  studios  were  chiefly  directed.  His  acquisitions  in  this  department,  were 
not  so  extensive  as  those  of  learned  Mathematicians  of  Europe,  or  perhaps 
of  some  few  in  our  own  country;  but  as  regards  aptness  and  accuracy,  he 
was  second,  we  think,  to  no  one.  There  was  one  faculty  he  possessed,  which 
generally  occasioned  no  little  surprise  to  his  pupils.  We  refer,  if  the  mental 
analyst  permit,  to  his  capacity  of  attending  to  several  exercises  siiuultane- 


DR.  m.  brown's  presidency.  123 

oasiy.  Pupils  not  unfrequently  came  to  the  Professor  for  instruction  on  some 
point,  while  he  was  occupied  in  solving  some  difficult  problem ;  and  for  fear 
of  distracting  his  attention,  would  be  disposed  to  defer  their  inquiries.  Mr. 
Miller  would  apprise  them  very  pleasantly  that  he  had  two  ;  and  without  in 
the  least  degree  turning  off  his  eye,  or  at  all  lessening  the  rapidity  of  his  other 
calculations,  could  hoar  and  answer  every  question  that  might  be  propounded. 
This  faculty,  though  not  often  necessary  to  professors,  was  of  the  greatest 
advantage  to  the  then  condition  of  the  College,  on  account  of  the  number 
of  branches  in  the  department,  and  the  injudicious  multiplication  of  classes. 
His  acquaintance  with  what  are  termed  Natural  Sciences,  was  equally  accu- 
rate, during  the  vigor  of  life,  although  it  is  not  likely  that  his  knowledge, 
during  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life,  kept  pace  with  the  improvements  in  some 
of  these  branches,  particularly  chemistry.  His  mode  of  communicating 
instruction  was  peculiarly  happy,  and  his  explanations  of  abstruse  points 
remarkably  lucid  and  satisfactory.  He  never  read  lectures,  but  his  extem- 
pore remarks  and  illustrations,  were  always  entertaining,  and  sometimes 
highly  valuable.  Original  theories,  in  explanation  of  natural  phenomena, 
were  not  unfrequently  suggested,  and  insurmountable  difficulties  presented 
to  the  adoption  of  existing  theories.  Many  of  these  are  safely  deposited  in 
the  memories  of  his  pupils ;  but  as  some  of  them  might  have  led  to  valua- 
ble practical  results,  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  his  extreme  diffidence 
prevented  him  from  communicating  them  in  a  less  perishable  form.  His 
manners  in  class  were  not  less  decorous  and  winning  than  in  private  life. 
His  punctuality  was  proverbial.  During  the  thirty  years  he  was  Professor, 
he  spent,  on  an  average,  about  five  hours  daily  in  the  recitation  room ;  and 
though  he  resided  about  a  mile  from  College,  he  was  never  known  to  disap- 
point a  class,  until  within  two  years  of  the  time  when  he  resigned  his  charge. 
Mr.  Miller's  failing,  as  a  Professor,  was  an  undue  lenity  to  delinquents. 
The  diligent  student  had  every  facility  for  improvement,  and,  as  a  conse- 
quenco,  made  rapid  progress  in  science ;  but  those  of  an  opposite  character 
were  ferroted  out  of  their  lurking  places,  and  goaded  with  too  sparing  a  hand. 
Faculty  meetings,  at  which  unpleasant  business  was  to  bo  transacted,  were 
the  only  meetings  at  which  Mr.  Miller's  seat  was  ever  vacant ;  but  this  was 
perhaps  the  infirmity  of  age,  rather  than  the  defect  of  the  man ;  for  our 
animadversion  is  to  bo  understood  of  the  decline  of  life  and  not  of  its 
meridian. 

"Finally,  we  refer  to  Mr.  Miller  as  a  Christian.  The  commencement  of 
his  Christian  course  is  dated  about  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  the  western 
country.  Of  his  early  religious  exercises,  the  writer  knows  nothing;  but 
the  genuineness  of  these  may  be  safely  inferred  from  the  after  fruits  of  holy 
living.  At  the  fireside,  in  the  recitation  room,  and  in  the  sanctuary,  the 
Christian  was  pre-eminent  ov«r  the  man,  and  the  scholar.  His  religious  char- 
acter partook  of  the  defect  already  alluded  to.  He  was  over  timid,  and 
therefore  less  prominent,  and,  in  some  respects,  less  useful,  than  many  of  not 


124  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

The  second  meeting  of  the  Board,  but  a  few  months  after, 
(September  25,  1833,)  tells  another  memorable  incident. 
"The  Board  proceeded  to  elect  a  member  in  the  room  of 
Craig  Ritchie,  Esq.,  deceased."  *     Thus,  within  a  few  months 

half  his  moral  worth.  He  sought  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteous- 
ness, under  the  healthful  conviction  that  all  things  else  which  are  necessary 
will  be  added  thWewith.  This  was  a  principal  reason  of  his  attachment  to 
the  College  which  he  served  for  so  many  years.  He  always  regarded  that 
Institution  as  eminently  the  offspring  of  faith  and  prayer.  His  salary,  during 
a  great  part  of  his  life,  was  exceedingly  small,  and  ho  is  known  to  have 
declined  several  professorships  when  the  emoluments  were  far  greater  than 
those  he  actually  enjoyed. 

"  Our  deceased  friend's  Christianity  was  the  result  of  intelligent,  as  well  as 
heart-felt  conviction.  His  accurate  mind  weighed  soberly  the  arguments  in 
favor  of  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity.  The  evidence  he  saw  to  be 
equally  fair  and  irresistible,  though  of  a  different  nature,  as  that  in  support 
of  any  proposition  in  Geometry.  The  system,  if  true,  he  perceived  to  be 
infinitely  momentous,  laying  claim  to  the  homage  of  his  heart  and  the  ser- 
vice of  his  life ;  and  these  were  accordingly  yielded  to  its  influence.  He 
was  attached  to  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  for  many  years  a  ruling  elder  : 
a  Calvinist  in  doctrine,  exemplary  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty,  and  yet, 
when  all  was  dono,  deeply  sensible  that  he  was  but  'an  unprofitable  servant.' 
The  benevolent  operations  of  the  day  received  his  cordial  support,  and  though 
a  strictly  temperate  man,  he  readily  gave  his  pledge  and  his  heart  to  the 
blessed  reform  now  in  progress  in  our  land. 

"He  conversed  about  his  decease  calmly,  expressed  his  deep  sense  of  his 
own  sinfulness,  and  his  exclusive  reliance  for  pardon  and  salvation  on  the 
atonement  of  his  Divine  Saviour.  Shortly  before  his  decease,  he  experienced 
a  '  fiery  trial,'  from  an  apprehension  that  he  would  be  '  a  castaway.'  This 
lasted  for  nearly  two  days.  He  subsequently  enjoyed  great  tranquillity,  and 
finally  fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  without  a  struggle,  trusting  in  the  mighty 
Saviour's  name.  'Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord,  for  they  rest 
from  their  labors,  and  their  works  do  follow  them.'" — The  Rev.  John  H. 
Kennedy. 

*  Craig  Ritchie,  Esq.,  was  born  in  Glasgow,  December  29,  1758.  When 
only  fourteen  years  of  age  he  emigrated  to  this  country,  in  1772.  He  early 
evinced  extraordinary  talents  for  business,  and  soon  succeeded  in  working 
his  way  to  the  position  of  a  successful  merchant,  in  Canonsburg.  At  the  ago 
of  thirty,  ho  secured  to  himself  the  possession  of  a  most  estimable  and  val- 
uable wife,  by  marrying  Miss  Mary  Price.  This  excellent  lady,  who  becamo 
the  mother  of  »1%  •  family,  pre-eminently  adorned  her  station,  and  greatly 


DR.  m.  brown's  presidency.  125 

of  each  other,  immediately  after  the  erection  of  this  last  fine 
building,  were  called  away  from  earth,  Prof.  Samuel  Miller, 
Craig  Ritchie,  Esq.,  and  Dr.  John  M'Millan.  They  had  been 
closely  united  for  more  than  forty  years,  in  their  efforts  to 
conduct  Jefferson  College  up  from  feeble  infancy  to  sturdy 
manhood.     When  Providence  Hall  was  finished  and  occupied, 


contributed  to  Mr.  Ritchie's  happiness  and  success  in  life.  She  sympathized 
with  him  in  his  toils  and  struggles  to  sustain  Jefferson  College,  through  its 
earlier  history ;  and  her  name  ought  ever  to  stand  with  those  of  Mrs.  Canon, 
Mrs.  M'Millan,  and  other  noble  women  who  labored  and  prayed,  and  made 
such  sacrifices  for  this  Institution. 

Mr.  Ritchie's  energy  of  character,  business  habits,  integrity  of  principle, 
and  general  intelligence,  secured  to  him  a  widely  extended  reputation.  Ha 
was  early  elected  to  the  Legislature,  and  served  his  country  for  some  years 
in  this  capacity.  During  the  "Whisky  Insurrection,"  he  took  a  decided 
stand  on  the  side  of  law  and  order ;  and  rendered  himself  so  unpopular  with 
some  of  the  leaders  of  that  unhappy  affair,  that  he  was  in  danger  of  their 
vengeance.  Indeed,  nothing  but  his  absence,  in  attendance  at  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  State,  saved  his  property  from  the  torch  of  the  incendiaries, 
at  the  time  that  Gen.  Neville's  house  was  burned  to  the  ground;  as  some  of 
the  party  told  the  family.  He  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  special  friendship 
of  Gen.  Washington,  who  often  visited  him,  and  corresponded  with  him,  and 
availed  himself  of  Mr.  Ritchie's  aid,  in  the  management  of  his  landed  inter- 
est, so  far  as  Washington  county  was  concerned.  He  not  only  lodged  with 
Mr.  Ritchie,  and  often  dined  with  him,  but  took  many  a  walk  with  him  along 
the  banks  of  Chartiers,  conferring  with  him,  not  only  about  his  own  private 
interests,  but  tht  public  concerns  of  the  country.  He  also  enjoyed  the 
friendship  and  confidence  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  who  made  Mr.  Ritchie's  house 
his  homo,  whenever  he  was  in  Canonsburg.  For  more  than  forty  years,  there 
was  an  unbroken  intimacy  between  these  good  men. 

It  would  be  hard  to  say  how  much  Jefferson  College  is  indebted  to  Mr. 
Ritchie  for  its  successful  struggles  in  its  most  perilous  times.  He  was  one 
of  its  first  Trustees,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  for  a  long  time.  He 
also  was  appointed  Treasurer,  at  various  times,  and  managed  the  financial 
affairs  of  the  College  with  great  judgment  and  success,  often  paying  large 
sums  in  advance,  from  his  own  pocket.  He  was  by  far  the  most  business 
man  they  had,  and  did  more  in  devising  ways  and  means  to  sustain  the  Col- 
lege, than  perhaps  all  the  other  Trustees  together,  even  including  Dr.  M'Mil- 
lan himself.  He  gave  a  large  portion  of  his  time  and  personal  attention  in 
superintending  the  progress  of  the  new  building,  and  providing  from  his 
own  resources,  whatever  might  bo  temporarily  wanted  by  the  workmen.  And 
11* 


126         HISTORY  OP  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE. 

they  might  well  consider  their  work  on  earth  as  done.  And 
the  remarkable  Providence  of  God  so  ordered  it  that  these 
three  men  should  all  successively  die  immediately  after  the 
completion  of  this  work.  It  was  a  circumstance  of  almost  as 
striking  a  character  as  the  deaths  of  Adams  and  Jefferson, 
the  one  the  author,  the  other  the  eloquent  advocate  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  just  fifty  years  after  that  national 
birthday,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1826.  But  we  return  to  notice 
one  or  two  matters  that  ought  not  to  be  passed  over  in  silence ; 
and  which  belong  to  the  few  years  which  precede  the  last  dates 
we  have  been  giving.  We  have  often  had  occasion  to  notice 
the  generous  benefactions  which  poured  from  time  to  time 
into  the  College  Treasury,  to  aid  poor  and  pious  youth  in  pre- 
paring for  the  gospel  ministry.  Indeed,  it  is  believed  the 
guardians  of  the  Institution  never  turned  away  a  worthy 
young  man,  destitute  of  means,  who  sought  their  doors, 
whether  he  was  a  professor  of  religion  or  not.     It  had  long 

■when,  in  1817,  every  other  Trustee  seemed  to  despair  of  the  farther  existence 
of  Jefferson  College,  Mr.  Ritchie  was  unmoved  and  immovable,  and  took 
such  energetic  steps  as  reanimated  the  friends  of  the  Institution,  and  secured 
its  continuance. 

He  died,  June  13th,  1833.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school.  His 
dignified  and  somewhat  aristocratic  manners,  and  his  fine  personal  appear- 
ance, commanded  respect  wherever  he  might  be  found.  For  honesty  of 
principlo,  goodness  and  charity,  and  for  self-sacrificing  efforts  in  behalf  of 
Jefferson  College,  the  church  of  his  choice,  and  the  country  of  his  adoption, 
Mr.  Ritchie  had  no  superior  in  our  Western  country.  To  have  so  long 
enjoyed  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  Gen.  Washington  and  Dr.  M'Millan, 
is  a  high  honor  to  which  few,  living  or  dead,  can  lay  claim.  He  left  behind 
him  a  largo  and  well  educated  family,  of  uncommon  intelligence  and  refine- 
ment. Their  offspring  are  scattered  over  the  land,  from  Baltimore  to  Now 
Orleans.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Andrew  Wylie,  President,  first  of  Jefferson  College, 
then  of  Washington  College,  and  lastly  of  Indiana  University,  married  his 
oldest  daughter.  Rev.  Samuel  F.  Leake,  also  married  a  daughter.  The 
Rev.  Joseph  T.  Smith,  D.  D.,  of  Baltimore,  is  married  to  his  grand-daughter. 
His  oldest  living  son,  John  Ritchie,  Esq.,  resides  in  New  Orleans.  The 
Hon.  David  Ritchie,  of  Pittsburgh,  is  perhaps  his  third  son.  His  youngost 
eon,  Oraig  Ritchie,  Esq.,  is  a  merchant  in  Canonsburg. 


DR.  M.  brown's  presidency.  127 

been  a  subject  of  serious  conference  amongst  the  members  of 
the  Board,  Faculty,  and  other  patrons  of  the  Institution, 
whether  a  better  system  could  not  be  devised  to  aid  poor,  but 
talented  and  promising  young  men,  through  a  college  course. 
The  plan  of  a  self-sustaining  Institution  had  not  then  been 
much  heard  of.  But  in  some  parts  of  the  country,  attempts 
had  been  made  to  unite  the  manual  labor  system  with  schools 
and  academies.  The  scheme  was  becoming  popular,  and 
exciting  much  attention  in  the  public  mind.  Some  had  read 
about  what  Pestalozzi  and  Fellenberg  were  doing  in  the  old 
world.  Could  something  like  this  be  done,  in  whole  or  in 
part,  at  Canonsburg  ?  If  half  the  glowing  declamation  that 
was  beginning  to  fill  the  public  press  on  the  subject  was 
founded  in  truth,  it  was  worth  the  trial.  Surely  Jefferson 
College,  that  had  been  sustained,  through  its  earlier  life,  by 
the  hard  earned  and  humble  offerings  of  the  comparatively 
poor,  all  over  Western  Pennsylvania,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
was  now,  in  her  better  and  more  prosperous  days,  peculiarly 
bound  not  to  forget  u  the  rock  whence  she  was  hewn  and  the 
hole  of  the  pit  whence  she  was  digged" — was  bound  not  to 
forget  the  poor.  It  was  worth  the  trial,  at  any  rate,  to  see 
whether  facilities  offered  for  agricultural  labor,  could  be 
secured  to  young  men  who  were  willing  to  work  their  way  to 
a  diploma,  by  the  toil  of  their  hands.  Accordingly,  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Board,  September  30,  1830,  the  following 
preamble  and  resolutions  were  adopted  : 

"  Whereas,  it  has  pleased  the  Great  Head  of  the  church,  emi- 
nently to  own  and  bless  the  instrumentality  of  this  College,  in 
preparing  men  for  usefulness  in  the  gospel  harvest,  as  well  as  in 
other  professional  and  public  stations,  and  whereas  the  Board 
cherish  the  hope  that  his  kind  and  benignant  Providence  may 
still  continue  to  watch  over  it  for  good,  and  to  increase  the 
amount  of  its  usefulness  to  the  cause,  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 
and  the  public  welfare  ;  and  whereas  they  feel  it  incumbent  on 
them  to  use  every  measure  in  their  power  to  facilitate  the  acqui- 


128  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

sition  of  classical  education  on  the  part  of  indigent  and  prom- 
ising young  men  of  our  country;  therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  in  order  the  more  fully  to  attain  the  objects 
above  adverted  to,  it  is  expedient  to  connect  with  the  College 
premises,  a  farm  of  such  location  and  size  as  may  give  to  all 
such  students  as  may  be  disposed,  an  opportunity  to  employ  a 
part  of  their  time  in  mechanical,  horticultural  and  agricultural 
pursuits,  with  a  view  to  the  decrease  of  their  expenses,  and  for 
other  purposes,  on  such  plan  and  under  such  regulations  as  may 
hereafter  be  adopted  by  the  Board." 

Messrs.  Williams,  Johnston,  and  Logan,  were  appointed  a 
commit  lee  to  take  measures  to  obtain  the  requisite  funds  for  the 
purchase  of  a  farm,  and  were  authorized  to  select  and  purchase 
the  same,  whenever  the  requisite  funds  shall  have  been  sub- 
scribed or  guaranteed.  In  April,  1831,  the  committee  made  a 
report,  unfavorable  to  the  purchasing  of  a  farm  at  that  time. 
But  while  the  subject  was  under  consideration,  Messrs.  Allen 
and  Williams  stated  to  the  Board  that  they  had  made  a  purchase 
of  a  farm,  adjacent  to  the  town,  for  the  sum  of  % 3,000,  which 
they  would  tender  to  the  Board,  if  they  would  accept  of  it, 
on  the  terms  purchased.  The  Board  agreed  to  the  terms — 
these  gentlemen  pledging  themselves,  at  the  end  of  one  year, 
to  take  back  the  farm,  provided  the  Board  should  be  disposed 
to  give  it  up,  and  that  they  would,  in  that  case,  refund  the 
money  now  advanced  by  the  Board,  without  interest.  We 
find  but  little  subsequently  recorded  about  this  farm.  It  is 
stated  that  on  September  28th,  1831,  "  A  request  was  laid 
before  the  Board,  by  Mr.  L.  Streit,  a  student  of  the  College, 
for  a  lease  of  three  or  four  acres  of  ground,  on  the  College 
farm,  with  the  privilege  of  erecting  a  house  and  making  cer- 
tain improvements  thereon.  His  request  was  granted,  and 
Messrs.  Moses  Allen  and  Benjamin  Williams  were  appointed 
a  committee  to  contract  with  Mr.  Streit,  and  make  such 
arrangements  with  other  students  desirous  of  residing  on  the 
farm,  as  shall  appear  expedient.     We  know  but  little  more 


DR.  m.  brown's  presidency.  129 

of  this  enterprise.  "We  believe,  however,  that  after  the  trial 
and  experience  of  a  few  years,  it  was  deemed  expedient  to 
abandon  it,  not  having  fulfilled  the  expectations  of  those  who 
were  at  first  very  sanguine  in  its  success.  A  similar  fate  has 
attended  such  schemes  almost  everywhere  else.  And  we 
hear  but  little  now  of  manual  labor  Colleges  and  Academies. 
A  real  agricultural  school,  however,  is  a  different  affair.  Our 
State  Agricultural  Society  is  about  to  make  the  experiment 
of  such  an  institution.  But  though  we  should  rejoice  in  its 
success,  if  conducted  on  right  principles,  we  fear  it  will  be  a 
failure.  For  how  shall  moral  and  religious  instruction  be 
provided  that  will  be  worth  any  thing,  and  at  the  same  time 
be  acceptable  to  all  the  parties  interested  ?  If  it  be  entirely 
left  out — if  an  open  Protestant  Bible  and  scripture  lessons  be 
excluded,  what  guarantee  can  we  have  for  its  moral  influence, 
and  even  for  its  successful  management  ?  But  this  is  aside 
from  our  present  purpose.  We  cannot  yet  think  that  a  plan 
of  manual  labor  in  mechanical  departments,  in  connection 
with  Jefferson  College,  would  be  necessarily  a  failure,  if  some 
of  the  faculty,  or  some  suitable  person  employed  by  them, 
could  take  the  direction  of  it.  Most  students  would  labor 
with  more  advantage  in  rooms  or  shops,  than  on  farms,  often 
exposed  to  scorching  suns,  or  drenching  rains;  for  these 
could  not  always  be  avoided.  And  young  men  or  boys,  reek- 
ing with  perspiration  or  discomforted  with  soiled  clothes,  feel 
little  taste  or  fitness  for  study,  or  the  lecture  room.  This  has 
been  our  experience,  and  that  of  those  with  whom  we  have 
conversed.  If,  indeed,  a  professor  of  agricultural  chemistry 
could  be  sustained,  and  a  sufficient  amount  of  land  could  be 
secured  to  afford  an  opportunity  of  illustrating  the  various 
scientific  improvements  in  the  cultivation  of  different  soils, 
in  sub-soil  plowing  and  spading,  and  in  the  preparation  of 
manures,  it  might  be  rendered  a  valuable  acquisition  to  Jef- 
ferson College,  and  to  "Western  Pennsylvania.  Perhaps,  after 
all,  the  great  difficulty  is  to  provide,  in  the  same  institution, 


130  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

for  those  who  are  willing  to  work,  and  also  for  those  who  have 
no  need,  or  are  not  inclined  to  work.  Those  who  being  poor, 
are  willing  to  work  their  way  to  a  diploma,  or  even  to  acquire 
a  part  of  a  college  education,  by  the  labor  of  their  hands, 
will  perhaps  always  prefer  to  perform  that  labor  elsewhere,  or 
to  resort  to  such  institutions  as  require  all,  without  distinction, 
to  work  certain  hours  of  the  day.  Work,  to  a  certain  amount, 
must  be  made  the  rule  for  all  alike,  perhaps,  in  order  to  secure 
complete  success,  whether  it  be  mechanical  or  agricultural 
labor. 

We  have  now  brought  down  our  history  to  a  period  suffi- 
ciently near  our  times  to  justify  a  winding  up  of  our  narra- 
tive, by  a  very  summary  statement  of  what  belongs  to  the 
remaining  period.  Dr.  Brown,  after  a  long  and  prosperous 
career  in  his  office,  resigned,  in  1845.  He  had  been,  during 
the  greater  part  of  his  residence  in  Canonsburg,  also  engaged 
in  pastoral  and  ministerial  labors,  in  connection  with  Dr. 
M'Millan.  And  when,  in  1830,  the  church  in  Canonsburg 
was  organized,  he  became  its  stated  Supply.  That  church, 
along  with  the  College,  was  favored  with  many  refreshing  sea- 
sons of  divine  influence.  No  college  in  our  country  has,  per- 
haps, been  more  highly  favored  in  this  respect.  There  were 
especially  two  very  remarkable  revivals,  both  in  the  College 
and  in  the  town,  during  his  presidency;  and  before  he  died, 
he  had  the  happiness  of  knowing  several  scores  of  ministers 
laboring  through  the  wide  land,  and  some  who  had  gone  to 
heathen  lands,  that  first,  as  they  believed,  drew  the  breath  of 
spiritual  life  while  at  College  in  Canonsburg. 

The  Rev.  R.  J.  Breckenridge,  D.  D.,  was  his  successor. 
He  continued  in  office,  however,  only  till  June,  1847 — not 
long  enough  to  fulfill  the  great  expectations  that  were  raised 
by  his  eminent  abilities — but  long  enough  to  give  a  new 
impulse  to  the  interests  of  the  College.  He  was  succeeded 
by  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Brown,  D.  D.,  son  of  Dr.  Matthew  Brown. 
He  had  been  a  member  of  the  Faculty  some  time  before,  and 


DR.    M.    BROWN'S   PRESIDENCY.  131 

stated  supply  or  pastor  of  Chartiers  congregation.  This 
charge  he  of  course  surrendered,  upon  accepting  the  Presi- 
dency of  the  College.  For  he  was  about  the  same  time 
unanimously  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  church  in  Canons- 
burg.  After  his  entrance  on  this  new  and  arduous  field  of 
labor,  he  soon  evinced  eminent  and  peculiar  talents  for  his 
station.  The  College  continued  to  flourish  under  his  admin- 
istration, assisted  as  he  has  been,  by  an  able  and  efficient  Fac- 
ulty. Though  it  was  thought  the  loss  of  Prof.  Samuel 
Williams,  and  the  Rev.  H.  Snyder,  both  eminent  in  their 
departments,  could  not  be  easily  repaired,  the  Trustees  were 
fortunate  in  securing  the  services  of  Prof.  Jones  and  Prof. 
Frazer- — one  from  the  Emerald  Isle,  the  other  a  North  Briton — 
both  well  educated  and  experienced  men.  Still  further,  they 
have  now  also  the  faithful  services  of  the  Rev.  A.  Williams, 
D.  D.,  whose  long  experience  as  a  Professor  in  Athens  Uni- 
versity, had  fully  prepared  him  for  his  present  office  and 
labor.  He  is  also  co-pastor  with  Dr.  Brown,  of  the  church. 
It  was  hoped  this  arrangement  would  afford  such  relief  to  Dr. 
Brown  as  his  feeble  health  required.  But  he  has  found  the 
labor  and  confinement  too  oppressive  for  him.  This,  together 
with  the  feeble  health  of  part  of  his  family,  has  led  to  his 
removal  to  the  country,  and  to  his  resignation  of  the  Presi- 
dency, much  to  the  regret  of  the  Board,  and  of  all  the  friends 
of  Jefferson  College.  The  Board,  however,  on  the  7th  of 
January  of  the  present  year,  (1857,)  have  unanimously  elected 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Alden,  late  Professor  at  La  Fayette  College, 
Easton,  Pa.  And  he  has  recently  entered,  with  great  accept- 
ance, upon  the  duties  of  his  responsible  office.  The  Institu- 
tion is  now  in  a  state  of  great  prosperity.  The  number  of 
students  is  as  great  as  at  any  former  period.  The  plan  of 
raising  by  scholarships  $60,000,  for  a  permanent  endowment 
fund,  has  succeeded.  The  effort  to  raise  another  endowment 
of  a  Greek  Professorship,  is  in  progress,  and  it  is  hoped  will 
be  completely  successful.     There  is  still  much  need  of  an 


132  niSTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

enlargement  of  the  College  Library,  of  a  more  extended  Chem- 
ical and  Philosophical  Apparatus,  of  an  improved  Natural 
History  department,  and,  above  all,  of  a  good  Astronomical 
Observatory,  with  a  full  supply  of  Optical  Instruments.  The 
honor  is  yet  reserved  for  some  generous  friends  of  science  to 
afford  the  requisite  funds. 

There  is  one  other  matter  connected  with  the  more  recent 
history  of  our  College,  that  may  be  briefly  stated.  A  move- 
ment was  made  in  the  Synod  of  Wheeling,  a  few  years  ago, 
with  a  view  of  getting  up  an  Institution  under  ecclesiastical 
supervision ;  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  a 
similar  committee,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh, 
with  the  hope  that  a  plan  might  be  devised  by  which  they 
might  act  conjointly  in  this  measure.  Nothing,  however, 
resulted  from  this,  so  far  as  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  was 
concerned.  In  the  course  of  another  year,  a  negotiation  was 
opened  between  the  Trustees  of  Washington  College  and  the 
Synod  of  Wheeling,  which  resulted  in  the  transfer  of  that 
College  to  the  control  and  supervision  of  that  Synod.  Believ- 
ing that  many  ministers  and  churches  in  the  bounds  of  the 
Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  would  be  glad  to  lend  their  co-opera- 
tion in  favor  of  this  Sy nodical  College,  that  Synod  sent  dele- 
gate >  to  her  sister  Synod  to  invite  such  action  and  friendly 
response,  in  regard  to  this  enterprise,  as  might  be  deemed  pro- 
per. Many  members  of  the  Synod,  though  declining  any  synod- 
ical  relation  to  the  Institution,  expressed  their  hearty  good 
will  in  the  cause,  and  their  willingness  that  agents  in  behalf  of 
Washington  College  should  visit  such  of  their  churches  as 
were  favorable  to  the  enterprise  of  the  Synod  of  Wheeling, 
and  invite  such  aid  to  endowment  funds  as  could  be  obtained. 
When  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  met  in  1853,  it  was  moved 
by  the  late  lamented  and  eloquent  young  brother,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Cook,  and  seconded,  we  believe,  by  the  Rev.  L.  M'Aboy, 
that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  confer  with  the  Trustees  of 
Jefferson  College,  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  that  Institu- 


DR.  M.  brown's  presidency.  133 

tion  could  be  placed  in  a  relation  to  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh, 
similar  to  that  of  Washington  College  with  the  Synod  of 
Wheeling,  and  to  report  to  the  Synod  at  its  next  meeting. 
Their  report  was  as  follows  : 

"  October  20th,  1854.  The  committee  appointed  to  cor- 
respond with  the  Trustees  of  Jefferson  College,  as  to  the  expe- 
diency and  conditions  of  its  being  placed  under  the  ecclesias- 
tical supervision  of  this  Synod,  or  in  case  the  General  Assem- 
bly divide  it,  the  joint  supervision  of  the  two  Synods  report, 
That  in  accordance  with  their  instructions,  they  diligently 
and  faithfully  attended  to  the  duty  enjoined,  and  were  respect- 
fully and  cordially  received ;  but,  for  reasons  assigned  by  those 
who  were  entrusted  with  the  management  and  control  of  the 
Institution,  your  committee  failed  to  accomplish  the  object 
contemplated  in  their  appointment." 

David  Kirkpatrick, 
L.  R.  M'Aboy, 
T.  H.  Neven. 

No  further  action  has  been  subsequently  taken  by  the  Synod 
of  Pittsburgh,  in  reference  to  this  matter.  Even  on  the  sup- 
position that  those  who  moved  in  this  affair  expected  the  result 
which  occurred,  we  suppose  their  desire  was  that  it  might 
be  seen  that  they,  as  well  as  a  majority  of  the  Synod,  were 
not  hostile  to  ecclesiastical  supervision  ;  and  that  the  churches 
and  the  world  might  see  that  the  position  of  Jefferson  Col- 
lege was  such  as  to  render  it  impracticable,  or,  at  least,  alto- 
gether unadvisable  that  any  nearer  relation  with  the  Synod 
of  Pittsburgh  should  be  effected  than  such  as  already  existed, 
and  that,  notwithstanding  this,  the  present  status  and  histori- 
cal antecedents  of  the  College,  entitled  it  to  the  undiminished 
confidence  and  patronage  of  the  whole  Presbyterian  church. 
From  this  report  of  the  committee  to  the  Synod,  it  does  not 
appear  what  the  reasons  were  that  led  the  Trustees  of  Jeffer- 
12 


134         HISTORY  OP  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE. 

son  College  to  take  such  ground,  as  led  the  committee  to 
report  the  failure  of  the  object  of  their  appointment.  The 
Board,  however,  took  care  to  publish  to  the  world,  in  the 
Presbyterian  Advocate,  and  several  other  papers,  during  the 
month  of  April,  1854,  their  action  in  relation  to  the  propo- 
sals of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  which  was  as  follows  : 

"  After  maturely  considering  the  important  communication 
of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  the  Board  feel  constrained  most 
respectfully  to  decline  the  proposed  ecclesiastical  connection 
with  the  Synod,  for  the  following,  among  other  reasons,  viz  : 
1st.  Fidelity  to  the  commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  from 
which  we  hold  our  charter,  and  from  which  considerable  dona- 
tions in  money  have,  from  time  to  time,  been  received,  pre- 
cludes us  from  the  right  to  transfer  to  other  hands,  and  for 
other  purposes  than  those  originally  contemplated,  a  trust  so 
important,  and  assumed  under  the  solemnities  of  an  oath. 
The  very  terms  of  our  charter  would  be  violated,  in  their 
spirit  at  least,  by  surrendering  the  exclusive  control  of  the 
Institution  to  any  one  religious  denomination.  2d.  The 
interests  of  other  religious  denominations,  especially  of  those 
which  have,  from  the  beginning,  been  largely  concerned  in 
the  patronage  and  control  of  this  College,  forbid  the  transfer 
of  its  management  and  supervision  to  any  single  denomina- 
tion. It  is  true  that  the  Institution  has  always  been  predom- 
inantly Presbyterian  in  its  character,  from  the  fact  that  it 
was  originally  planted  in  the  midst  of  a  population  almost 
exclusively  Presbyterian,  and  has  always  been  dependent 
chiefly  on  Presbyterian  patronage.  This  character  it  is 
expected  still  to  maintain.  Its  Presbyterianism,  however, 
has  never  been  exclusive  or  sectarian.  At  least  three  branches 
of  the  great  Presbyterian  family,  all  holding  '  the  like  pre- 
cious faith,'  have  always  been  united  in  its  support.  For  one 
of  these  denominations,  largely  in  the  majority,  to  usurp  the 
exclusive  control  of  an  institution  in  which  the  others  are 


DR.  m.  brown's  presidency.  135 

alike  interested,  in  proportion  to  their  numbers,  would  be  a 
gross  violation  of  good  faith  and  Christian  courtesy.  3d.  The 
past  and  present  prosperity  of  the  College,  on  its  existing 
basis,  satisfies  us  that  the  proposed  change  is  not  called  for. 
God  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  bless  the  Institution  with 
the  smiles  of  his  Providence,  and  the  frequent  effusions  of 
his  spirit,  so  that  it  has  been  enabled  to  send  forth  an  unusu- 
ally large  number  of  laborers  into  the  spiritual  harvest  field 
in  our  country,  and  in  foreign  lands  ;  and  to  furnish  hundreds 
of  men  for  posts  of  distinguished  honor  and  usefulness,  both 
in  Church  and  State.  We  have,  therefore,  no  inducement  to 
abandon  our  old  foundations,  and  especially  to  have  recourse, 
in  the  midst  of  prosperity,  to  a  measure  which  we  could  not, 
in  good  faith,  adopt  under  any  circumstances.  4th.  We  see 
no  necessity  for  the  proposed  change,  on  the  alleged  ground 
of  a  demand  for  '  a  more  sanctified  education ;'  or  for  the 
greater  security,  as  to  the  faithful  and  unperverted  use  of 
our  funds,  in  future  years.  There  has  always  been  as  large 
an  infusion  of  the  religious  element  into  the  educational  appli- 
ances of  this  College,  as  we  think  is  proper  or  practicable,  in 
a  literary  Institution.  It  would  be  obviously  improper  and 
unwise  for  us  to  subvert  the  very  foundations  of  the  Institu- 
tion, in  order  to  secure  for  it  an  advantage  which  it  already 
enjoys,  in  as  high  a  degree  as  any  Ecclesiastical  College  in 
the  land.  And  whatever  may  be  the  apparent  necessity  for 
adopting  the  principle  of  ecclesiastical  supervision  in  the 
founding  of  new  institutions,  in  those  parts  of  our  country 
where  all  other  denominations  are  pursuing  the  same  course, 
we  believe  that  in  our  case  there  is  no  such  necessity.  We 
are  happy,  moreover,  to  be  able  to  afford  an  example  of  har- 
monious Christian  union  and  co-operation  on  common  ground, 
at  a  time  when  the  Providence  of  G-od  seems  to  call  so  loudly 
upon  all  the  true  friends  of  Christ  to  combine  their  efforts 
in  opposition  to  common  enemies.  In  regard  to  the  security 
of  funds  from  future  perversion,  we  believe  that  the  peculiar 


136  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

constitution  of  this  Board,  as  consisting  of  members  belong- 
ing to  four  different  Presbyterian  denominations,  affords  a 
more  ample  guarantee  for  the  safety  of  funds,  than  if  they 
were  under  the  exclusive  control  of  any  one  of  these  denom- 
inations. The  history  of  endowments  proves  that  they  are 
as  liable  to  perversion  in  ecclesiastical  as  in  other  hands. 
But  while  we  do  not  feel  at  liberty,  for  the  reasons  already 
stated,  to  place  the  Institution  under  the  direct  control  of  the 
Synod,  yet,  in  order  to  satisfy  those  who  think  that  the  church 
is  the  safest  depository  for  funds,  we  are  perfectly  willing,  and 
would  propose,  that  any  funds  which  the  Synod  may  see  proper 
to  raise  for  the  endowment  of  a  Professorship,  or  for  scholar- 
ships in  this  Institution,  shall  be  held  under  the  care  and 
control  of  the  Synod,  and  be  subject  to  withdrawal,  whenever 
applied  in  a  way  that  does  not  meet  the  approbation  of  that 
body.  We  are  likewise  willing  to  enter  into  a  similar  arrange- 
ment with  the  other  ecclesiastical  bodies  represented  in  this 
Board. 

"  In  thus  declining  the  proposals  of  the  Synod,  we  wish  it  to 
be  distinctly  understood  that  we  do  not  undervalue  the  patron- 
age and  the  maternal  care  of  that  venerable  body.  We  trust 
that  the  reasons  we  have  assigned  for  our  course  will  commend 
themselves  to  the  approbation  of  all  the  friends  of  the  Col- 
lege, and  to  the  Christian  public  generally ;  and  we  feel 
assured  that  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  will  not  withdraw  its 
confidence  and  favor  hitherto  enjoyed,  from  the  Institution 
under  our  care,  so  long  as  we  adhere  to  the  principles  and 
policy  by  which  we  have  hitherto  conducted  it,  and  to  which 
the  Synod  itself  has  recently  given  the  strongest  and  most 
unqualified  approbation.  We  should  deprecate,  above  all 
things  else,  the  withdrawment  from  us  of  the  sympathies  and 
prayers  of  the  people  of  God.  We  shall  still  be  dependent, 
in  a  measure,  on  their  pecuniary  patronage,  but  much  more 
upon  their  prayers,  for  a  continuance  of  the  prosperity  which 
we  have  heretofore  enj  oyed.    Trusting  that  God  and  our  friends 


DR.  m.  brown's  presidency.  137 

will  not  desert  us,  we  decide  to  go  forward,  on  the  old  basis, 
on  which  the  fathers  of  this  Institution  placed  it.  Adopted 
unanimously  at  a  meeting  of  the  Board,  held  March  29,  1854. 

"James  M'Cullough,  Sec'y." 

The  reading  of  this  paper  was  not  called  for  when  the 
synodical  committee  made  their  report,  as  it  had  been  previ- 
ously published,  and  was  doubtless  read  by  most  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Synod. 

It  is  not  out  of  place  here  to  state,  simply  as  a  historian, 
that  the  minds  of  the  friends  and  advocates  of  the  old  system 
of  government  were  about  this  time  enlightened,  or  mystified, 
by  an  elaborate  paper  that  appeared  in  the  Southern  Presby- 
terian Review,  on  the  subject  of  denominational  education. 
It  is  said  to  be  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  R.  J.  Breckenridge, 
D.  D.,  and  was  published  in  a  separate  pamphlet,  and  put 
into  the  hands  of  some  of  the  Trustees  of  Jefferson  College. 
Those  who  wish  to  examine  the  whole  question  about  ecclesi- 
astical supervision,  should  read  the  very  able  Annual  Reports 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  General  Assembly's  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, for  the  last  few  years,  and  also  this  paper  of  Dr.  Breck- 
enridge, together  with  several  able  articles  published  by  the 
Rev.  Drs.  Thornwell,  Dabney  and  Hope,  and  also  an  excel- 
lent paper  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Vaughan,  of  Vir- 
ginia. Those  written  by  Thornwell  and  Vaughan,  are 
considered  as  strong  on  that  side  of  the  question  as  any  that 
have  been  written.  But  we  hasten  to  close  this  chapter,  with 
but  a  few  remarks. 

It  is  not  easy  to  state  with  any  precision  what  Jefferson 
College  has  done  for  the  cause  of  literature  and  science 
throughout  this  country.  There  are  some  facts,  however, 
that  are  interesting  to  every  man  who  loves  his  country  and 
his  race.  She  ha,s  had  the  honor  of  training  twenty-four  Presi- 
12* 


138  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

dents  of  Colleges,*  in  ten  different  States.  More  than  fifty 
Professors  in  Colleges  were  once  sitting  at  her  feet.  A  large 
number  of  Professors  in  Theological  Seminaries,  and  in 
Academies  and  Female  Seminaries  and  Institutes,  are  amongst 
her  alumni.  About  six  hundred  ministers  of  the  gospel 
received  their  literary  training,  in  whole  or  in  part,  at  this 
seat  of  science.  The  number  of  lawyers,  physicians,  judges, 
governors  of  states,  legislators,  and  public  men,  cannot  be 
told  with  any  certainty.  We  will  not  venture  our  conjectures. 
The  whole  number,  however,  is  vast.  When  Messrs.  Hender- 
son, M'Millan  and  Smith  stood  in  the  shade  of  the  sassafras 
bushes,  in  July,  1791,  to  inaugurate  the  Institution  in  its 
humble  form  of  academical  life,  how  little  did  they  dream  of 
the  glorious  career  that  awaited  their  humble  protege  !  May 
successive  generations  witness  a  still  brighter  halo  of  glory 
gathering  around  the  brow  of  Jefferson  College,  until  its 
brightness  shall  mingle  and  blend  and  melt  away  with  the 
glories  of  the  millennial  morn  ! 

*  The  present  Principal  of  Washington  College,  now  under  the  ewe  of 
the  Synod  of  Wheeling,  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Scott,  D.  D.,  graduated  at  Jofferson 
College,  in  1827  ;  and  the  President  of  Washington  College,  Lexington,  Va., 
that  Institution  which  owed  its  origin  to  the  same  action  of  the  Synod  of 
Virginia,  in  1791,  that  helped  forward  the  Canonshurg  Academy,  {"par 
nobile  fratram")  the  Rev.  George  Junkin,  D.  J).,  graduated  also  at  Jefferson 
College,  in  1813. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SOME  ACCOUNT   OP   THE   LITERARY  SOCIETIES    OP   JEFFERSON 
COLLEGE. 

History  of  Philo  Literary  Society — And  of  the  Franklin  Literary  Society. 

Our  work  would  be  incomplete  without  some  notice  of  two 
important  institutions  that  have  been  connected  with  the 
fortunes  of  the  College,  for  about  sixty  years.  We  begin 
with 

€ljc  pijiU  Sitttatr)  <$ 0 c i 1 1 g . 

This  Society  is  a  few  months  older  than  its  rival  sister, 
being  founded  August  23d,  1797. 

Its  founders  were  the  Rev.  John  Watson,  first  President  of 
the  College,  Rev.  Samuel  Tate,  Rev.  Robert  Johnston,  Rev. 
James  Satterfield,  Rev.  John  M'Lain,  Rev.  Elisha  Macurdy, 
Wm.  Fowler,  Rev.  John  Boggs,  Rev.  Robert  Lee,  Rev.  Wm. 
Moorehead,  Rev.  Wm.  M'Millan,  D.  D.,  and  Joseph  Smith. 
Of  these,  only  Messrs.  Johnston  and  Satterfield  still  survive. 
Most  of  them  were  eminently  useful  men  in  their  day ;  and 
some  of  them  will  long  be  remembered  in  Western  Penn- 
sylvania. 

The  object  of  the  Society  was  the  cultivation  and  promotion 
of  science  and  literature,  and  of  friendship  and  morality 
among  its  members.  The  first  meeting  was  held  in  the  garret 
of  the  old  stone  edifice,  where  they  continued  to  assemble  for 
several  subsequent  years.  They  labored  under  every  incon- 
venience.    Their  seats  were  benches ;  their  great  coats  were 

(139) 


140  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

used  for  window  blinds;  and  their  table  was  but  a  stool. 
Yet,  with  a  laudable  ambition,  they  surmounted  every  obsta- 
cle, and  laid  the  foundations  of  an  institution  that  has  passed 
through  the  trying  scenes  of  sixty  years. 

The  government  was  substantially  the  same  with  that  of 
the  rival  Society;  and  both  resembled  those  of  the  literary 
societies  of  Princeton  College,  and  of  other  Institutions. 
Indeed,  their  constitutions  were,  to  some  extent,  copied  from 
those  of  the  Whig  and  Cliosophic  Societies  of  Nassau  Hall. 
The  details  will  not  be  expected  in  our  brief  narrative.  Suf 
fice  it  to  say,  they  were  well  suited  to  secure  the  objects  in 
view — their  mental  and  moral  improvement,  mutual  friend- 
ship, and  habits  of  system  and  good  order  in  their  exercises, 
deliberations,  and  business  transactions.  They  met  weekly, 
during  the  sessions  of  College, — the  Philo  Society,  generally 
on  Friday  evening.  In  earlier  days,  their  exercises  were 
spelling,  speaking  select  orations,  debating,  and  reading  com- 
positions. The  first  of  these  was,  after  some  time,  laid  aside  : 
whether  wisely  or  not,  is  not,  perhaps,  so  clear.  Though  it 
might  seem  rather  humiliating  and  undignified,  such  an  exer- 
cise could  not  fail  to  be  profitable,  through  all  future  life. 
Strange  as  it  may  appear,  graduates  of  colleges  are  not  always 
good  spellers,  or  thoroughly  grounded  in  orthography.  Per- 
haps the  end  might  be  attained,  in  such  societies,  without 
adopting  a  school-boy  method  of  drilling.  The  Society  was 
opened  and  closed  with  prayer.  The  presiding  officer  was 
required,  upon  his  induction  into  office,  to  read  an  original 
composition.  The  members  were  divided  into  three  classes, 
which  alternately  engaged  in  debating,  select  speaking,  com- 
positions, recitations  on  history,  and  reading  and  spelling. 
Four  debaters  were  chosen  by  the  presiding  officer,  from  the 
class  that  read  and  spelled,  for  the  debate  of  the  ensuing 
evening  or  meeting.  One  of  these  had  choice  of  sides  as  to 
the  question,  another,  choice  of  assistant.  Translations  were 
sometimes  allowed  from  some  one  of  the  classics,  in  lieu  of 


THE   PHILO   LITERARY   SOCIETY.  141 

select  orations.  This  was  considered  of  great  advantage  to 
I  he  younger  members,  to  promote  their  accurate  acquaintance 
mih  the  classical  writers.  But  this  was  during  the  earlier 
history  of  the  Society.  If  a  student  failed  to  perform  his 
proper  exercise,  he  was  required  to  do  it  at  the  next  meeting, 
in  addition  to  what  was  then  tasked.  One  of  the  earliest 
items  recorded  is  a  resolution  of  March  30th,  1798,  requiring 
two  persons  to  be  appointed  to  speak  orations  before  the  Trus- 
tees, at  the  following  examination.  Again,  on  the  evening 
of  March  18th,  1799,  it  was  resolved  that  three  persons  should 
be  elected  to  speak  orations,  two  of  which  were  to  be  deliv- 
ered before  the  Trustees,  and  one  "  on  the  last  night  of  the 
singing  school  !"  These  were  the  first  public  exercises  of 
which  there  is  any  record. 

On  September  5th,  1799,  a  proposition  was  received  from 
the  Franklin  Society,  to  contest  with  the  Philo  Society,  before 
the  Trustees,  at  the  following  examination,  in  select  speaking, 
composition,  and  debating  ;  which  proposition  was  agreed  to. 
Thence  originated  those  Contests  which  have  so  long  been 
annually  sustained  by  these  literary  societies,  at  the  close  of 
each  Spring  session.  It  is  unnecessary  to  enlarge  upon  the 
influence  of  this  remarkable  feature  of  Jefferson  College  his- 
tory, upon  the  improvement  of  the  members,  and  upon  the 
development  and  cultivation  of  the  talents  of  the  students. 

The  first  question  discussed  was,  "  Whether  the  mathe- 
matics, or  the  languages — Latin  and  Greek — be  more  neces- 
sary ?"  The  question  is  sufficiently  vague  to  allow  of  a  wide 
range  in  its  discussion ;  and  perhaps,  for  that  reason,  was 
better  adapted  for  the  purpose.  The  next  question  discussed 
was,  in  substance,  "  Whether  the  immediate  emancipation  of 
the  slaves  would  be  right  V*  But  as  we  purpose  to  give  a  list 
of  the  questions,  down  to  the  present  time,  we  shall  not  fur- 
ther notice  them  here.  For  the  first  four  years,  they  had  no 
library.  They  then  began  by  purchasing  a  pronouncing  dic- 
tionary.    This  was  their  first  book,  and  is  still  retained  in 


142  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

their  library,  as  a. venerable  piece  of  antiquity.  It  was  their 
only  book  for  four  years  more  ;  when  some  member  happily 
hit  upon  the  idea  of  a  subscription  by  the  members,  and 
patrons  of  literature  in  the  town  and  country  around,  to  raise 
a  fund,  with  which  they  might  begin  a  library.  Twenty-four 
volumes  were  thus  secured.  About  $60  were  raised  in  this  way. 
In  1806,  with  their  two  dozen  of  books,  and  a  treasury  con- 
taining $29.18f,  and  an  outstanding  subscription  for  $120, 
they  also  required  of  each  member,  on  dismission,  $1,  to  be 
devoted  exclusively  to  the  purchase  of  books.  They  also 
petitioned  the  Trustees  for  a  suitable  repository  for  their 
books.  In  those  early  days,  they  adhered  to  the  old  style  of 
reckoning,  by  pounds,  shillings  and  pence. 

The  questions  discussed  in  the  Society  in  those  early  days 
were  adapted  to  their  circumstances.  Having  no  library  of 
any  account,  they  did  not  often  venture  on  discussions  that 
required  much  book  research ;  preferring  such  as  were  of  a 
practical  nature,  and  about  which  they  had  some  experience, 
or  could  gather  opinions  that  were  floating  in  the  community 
around  them,  in  those  days.  A  few  specimens  may  be  given  : 
"  Is  it  right  to  inoculate  for  the  small-pox  V  Decided  in  the 
negative.  "  Is  the  farmer  or  the  student  the  more  happy  V 
"  Whether  is  it  naturally  immoral  to  have  more  wives  than 
one  ?"  "  Is  it  right  for  a  student  to  marry  while  at  learn- 
ing ?"  Decided  in  the  negative.  "  Whether  is  it  right,  in 
public  worship,  to  give  out  more  lines  than  one  ?"  "  Or  to 
give  out  two  lines  of  a  Psalm  at  once,  in  this  congregation  V 
Decided  in  the  negative.  "  Whether  would  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania be  better  with,  or  without  lawyers  ?"  "  Is  it  as  proper 
for  young  ladies  to  make  proposals  of  marriage  to  young  gen- 
tlemen, as  for  young  gentlemen  to  make  proposals  to  young 
ladies  V  "  Have  we  any  good  reason  to  say  that  a  black 
skin,  flat  nose,  and  curly  hair,  are  uglier  than  the  color,  noses, 
and  hair,  we  have  among  us  V  "  Whether  is  activity,  joined 
with  sharpness  of  speech  and  temper;  or  good  humor,  joined 


THE   PHILO  LITERARY   SOCIETY.  143 

with  indolence,  to  be  preferred  in  the  character  of  a  young 
lady  ?"  "Is  it  right  to  drink  whisky  in  a  tavern  ?"  Decided 
that  it  is  right  in  certain  cases.  "Should  a  married  couple 
continue  to  cohabit,  when  they  become  odious  to  each  other, 
and  desire  to  separate  ?"  "  Does  marriage  weaken  the  pow- 
ers of  the  mind  ?"  To  debate  this  question,  two  single  per- 
sons were  appointed  upon  the  affirmative,  and  two  married 
upon  the  negative ;  but  the  latter,  having  the  advantage  of 
experience,  found  little  difficulty  in  sustaining  the  negative, 
before  a  body  who  little  regarded  all  theoretical  views,  when 
they  could  receive  the  evidence  of  practical  men.  Indeed,  to 
account  for  several  questions  above  stated,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  in  those  days,  there  were  always  several  married 
students  at  College,  and  the  others  found  amusement  in  teas- 
ing and  roasting  them  by  such  discussions.  "  The  above 
questions,"  says  the  Philo  historian,  "  were  all,  doubtless, 
debated  with  that  gravity  and  dignity  which  their  importance 
demanded."  Even  so  late  as  1823,  the  following  question 
was  discussed  :  "  Suppose  a  young  man,  bred  a  farmer,  but 
without  any  fortune,  has  it  in  his  power  to  marry  either  of 
two  women  ;  the  one,  a  girl  of  large  fortune,  but  neither  hand- 
some in  person  nor  agreeable  in  conversation,  and  can  manage 
the  household  affairs  well  enough ;  the  other,  a  girl  every 
way  agreeable  in  person,  conversation  and  behavior,  but 
without  any  fortune ;  which  of  the  two  should  he  choose  ?" 
From  the  minutes  of  the  next  meeting,  it  appears  that  the 
decision  was  in  favor  of  the  girl  without  fortune.  From  the 
ludicrous  length  of  the  question,  one  might  think  that  the 
proposer  of  it  had  been  recently  reading  "  Pike  and  Hazard's 
Cases  of  Conscience." 

Of  the  founders  of  the  Philo  Society,  Dr.  M.  Brown,  who 
was  requested  to  furnish  some  reminiscences  to  a  committee, 
in  1837,  gave  the  following  brief  account :  "  Of  John  Boggs, 
I  am  not  certain ;  but  believe  he  is  the  same  who  was,  for 
some  time,  pastor  or  stated  supply,  in  the  Second  church, 


144  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

Pittsburgh ;  and  teacher  of  a  female  academy — bein^  a 
respectable  scholar  and  preacher,  and  a  man  of  piety,  laste 
and  eloquence.  Of  Win.  Foxvler,  I  know  nothing.  Robert 
Johnston  is  well  known  as  a  distinguished  preacher,  and  very 
useful  man.  He  was  for  some  time  pastor  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian church  in  Meadville.  Afterwards  settled  in  the  Forks  of 
Yough — several  years  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
Jefferson  College — a  punctual  and  useful  member,  who  has 
ever  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  concerns  of  the  College. 
He  is  now  (1837)  pastor  of  a  church  in  Indiana  county,  Pa. 
He  received  the  best  education  this  Institution  could  afford, 
while  an  Academy.  He  left  before  it  received  a  charter  for 
a  College ;  and  of  course  is  not  numbered  among  our  gradu- 
ates. Robert  Lee  became  a  preacher,  and  was  settled  in  West- 
moreland county,  Pa.  Of  his  history,  I  know  nothing. 
John  M  Lain  was  a  preacher  of  high  standing  for  a  consid- 
erable time ;  was  settled  at  Montour's,  near  Pittsburgh — a 
man  of  talents;  but  was  charged  with  intemperance,  and 
silenced.  He  afterwards  practiced  medicine.  Elisha  Macurdy, 
well  known  as  one  of  the  most  respectable  laborers  and  use- 
ful ministers  in  this  country.  He  was  settled  at  Cross-Roads, 
when  first  licensed,  where  he  remained  until  infirmity  of  age 
admonished  him  to  resign.  He  will  be  remembered  especially 
for  his  missionary  spirit,  and  the  friend  of  the  poor  Indians, 
having  done  more  in  that  cause  than  any  other  man  in  our 
region.  Macurdy's  education  was  very  limited,  having  been 
advanced  iu  years  before  he  commenced.  Wm.  M'MiUan, 
formerly  President  of  the  College — a  man  of  solid,  rather 
than  splendid  talents;  a  substantial,  rather  than  polished 
scholar.  He  was  nephew  to  Rev.  Dr.  Millan — succeeded  Mr. 
Wylie.  Unhappy  differences  having  occurred,  he  resigned 
the  office  of  President — was  afterwards  President  of  the  Col- 
lege of  New  Athens,  Ohio,  where  he  died.  Wm.  Moorehead 
was  the  same  whose  name  is  associated  with  Watson.  He  grad- 
uated, as  I  believe,  at  Princeton,  at  the  same  time  with  Wat- 


THE   PHILO   LITERAKY   SOCIETY.  145 

son — licensed  to  preach  the  same  day.  They  were  married 
to  two  sisters,  (daughters  of  Dr.  M'Millan,)  at  the  same  time, 
died  on  the  same  day,  and  were  buried  in  the  same  grave. 
This  singular  coincidence  is  engraved  on  their  tombstone,  on 
the  hill,  (Chartiers  graveyard,)  as  most  of  the  students  may 
have  seen.  James  ISatterfield. — He  was  a  respectable  cler- 
gyman ;  still  living — one  of  the  first  pioneers  west  of  the 
Allegheny  river.  He  was  located  somewhere  in  Mercer 
county,  Pa.,  or  Trumbull  county,  Ohio.  Samuel  Tate,  a 
pioneer,  very  early  settled  in  the  town  of  Mercer,  where  he 
has  been  greatly  useful :  known  over  all  that  region  as  an 
excellent  man,  whose  labors  have  been  blessed  extensively. 
He  is  still  living,  (1837,)  and  honored  as  a  father.  John 
Watson. — His  history  is  very  remarkable  and  interesting. 
He  was  a  poor  lad,  employed  as  a  clerk  or  bar-keeper,  to  a 
Mr.  Purviance,  who  kept  a  public  house  in  Washington.  He 
possessed  an  uncommon  eagerness  to  acquire  knowledge.  He 
began  to  read  the  "  Spectator,"  and  finding  so  many  Latin  sen- 
tences as  mottoes,  he  was  determined  to  understand  them, 
and  somehow  to  learn  Latin.  He  procured  a  grammar  and 
dictionary,  and  without  any  teacher,  commenced  the  process. 
He  was  brought  to  notice  by  the  celebrated  Judge  Addison, 
an  admirable  scholar  himself,  and  patron  of  learning.  Addi- 
son, being  at  Washington,  at  court,  returned  to  his  lodging  in 
the  tavern,  late  at  night,  after  all  had  gone  to  bed  except  Wat- 
son. Him  he  found  at  his  books.  He  had  a  Horace,  and 
was  laboring  at  it.  Addison,  surprised  and  delighted,  fur- 
nished him  useful  books.  And,  after  some  time,  he  was 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  some  benevolent  persons,  who 
agreed  to  send  him  to  the  Canonsburg  Academy.  He  became 
truly  pious ;  as  was  exhibited  by  his  Christian  life  and  happy 
death.  His  talents  were  of  the  highest  order.  He  was  sent 
to  Princeton  College,  where  he  sustained  himself  by  teaching 
a  class,  as  tutor ;  and  prosecuted  his  studies  with  such  success, 
that  no  one  pretended  to  rival  him  for  the  first  honor.  Yet 
18 


146  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

he,  for  various  reasons,  modestly  declined  it.  He  was  the 
Kirkc  White  of  Nassau  Hall.  The  Hon.  Charles  F.  Mercer, 
of  Virginia,  was  his  classmate ;  and  in  the  address  which  he 
delivered,  a  few  years  since,  to  the  Societies  in  Princeton,  he 
spoke  of  Watson  in  language  of  the  strongest  eulogy.  Mod- 
est and  retiring,  yet  clear  in  intellect  as  a  sunbeam,  he  was 
sent  to  Princeton,  with  a  view  to  preparing  him  for  the  Presi- 
dency of  this  College.  After  his  return,  he  was  licensed  to 
preach  the  gospel,  and  chosen  Pi-esident,  August,  1802,  the 
first  President  after  the  College  received  its  charter.  He  died, 
November  30th,  1802,  about  three  months  after  his  appoint- 
ment. His  constitution  was  radically  effected  by  study,  and 
a  laborious  sedentary  life  before  he  left  Princeton.  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  him  and  hearing  him  preach  but  once.  It 
may  be  observed  that  none  of  the  above  list  except  Win 
M'Millan,  are  among  the  list  of  graduates.  The  reason  is 
that  they  completed  their  education  in  the  Academy,  and 
before  the  first  regular  Commencement.  Watson  and  Moore- 
head  graduated  at  Princeton." 

Thus  far  Dr.  Brown,  whose  account  we  preferred  to  give 
just  as  he  wrote  it,  being  a  valuable  paper,  which  he  designed 
simply  as  brief  notes,  to  aid  an  historical  committee.  Had 
Dr.  Brown  lived  to  write  the  history  of  Jefferson  College,  as 
he  designed,  he  would  doubtless  have  given  a  much  fuller  and 
more  accurate  account  of  these  founders  of  the  Philo  Literary 
Society.  We  throw  it  into  our  brief  narrative,  as  worthy  of 
preservation,  coming  from  his  pen. 

Of  the  subsequent  fortunes  of  the  Society,  its  various  times 
and  scenes  of  excitement,  its  internal  reforms  and  revolutions, 
its  ups  and  downs  of  prosperity  and  adversity,  we  shall  not 
attempt  a  tedious  recital.  Like  their  sister  Society,  they  were 
more  than  once  on  the  brink  of  dissolution  from  internal  fac- 
tions. Indeed,  it  appears  that  something  like  extinction  of 
the  old  Society  did  occur  in  1808.  For,  during  that  year,  so 
terribly  did  faction  and  division  reign  among  them,  that  the 


THE   PHILO   LITERARY   SOCIETY.  14'7 

friends  of  order  actually  re-organized  themselves  under  the 
name  of  the  "  Reformed  Philo  Society  •"  adopted  an  amended 
constitution,  and  set  out  on  a  fresh  career,  receiving  members, 
de  novo  and  ignoring  the  former  organization  altogether ;  thus, 
iike  a  Phoenix,  rising  from  the  ashes  of  the  old  one,  plumed 
its  pinions  for  a  fresh  flight.  Thus  the  elements  of  faction 
were  eliminated  from  the  body ;  and  the  society  thenceforward 
held  on  its  noble  pathway  to  honor  and  renown.  After  some 
time,  we  believe  the  new  name  was  quietly  dropped.  In  sub- 
sequent years,  as  the  College  became  more  prosperous,  under 
the  long  and  successful  administration  of  Dr.  Matthew  Brown, 
this  Society  continued  to  flourish  in  every  way.  With  a  spirit 
of  almost  lavishing  liberality,  they  provided  for  themselves  a 
magnificent  Hall,  and  a  splendid  library,  of  many  thousand 
volumes.  Indeed,  the  halls  and  libraries  of  the  two  Societies 
are  an  honor  to  Jefferson  College,  and  reflect  great  credit  upon 
the  liberal  and  generous  impulses  of  their  members.  A 
stranger  would  be  struck  with  astonishment,  after  winding 
his  way  up  through  the  rather  gloomy  and  dingy  passages 
and  stairways  of  the  old  College,  to  find  himself  suddenly 
ushered  into  either  of  the  rooms  of  the  Societies,  and  would 
be  apt  to  recall  Sir  Walter  Scott's  description  of  the  luxurious 
splendor  of  some  of  the  inner  apartments,  in  the  shabby  and 
repulsive-looking  houses  of  the  Jews  in  the  middle  ages.  He 
would  remember  Rebecca's  home,  described  in  Ivanhoe.  As 
their  library  increased,  and  their  means  of  investigating  truth 
on  all  subjects  were  enlarged,  the  questions  discussed  became 
more  philosophical  and  metaphysical — such  as,  "  Is  emulation 
commendable  ?"  "  Is  there  any  such  thing  in  human  nature 
as  disinterested  benevolence  V  u  Do  we  sin  in  dreaming  V 
u  Is  it  an  abridgement  of  the  liberties  of  freemen  to  pay 
license  for  marriage  ?"  It  is  no  longer  necessary  to  discuss 
this  question  in  Pennsylvania.  But  it  would  be  worthy  of 
attention  in  several  of  the  States,  where  the  license  system 


148  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

prevails,  especially  in  Maryland,  where  the  tax  is  enormous, 
and  really  oppressive  to  the  poor. 

The  Contests  between  the  Societies  underwent  some  changes 
in  process  of  time.  The  "  original  oration"  was  introduced 
without  dropping  the  "  select."  The  decision  about  the 
((  original  oration,"  must  often  perplex  the  judges,  if  they 
must  decide  both  upon  the  merits  of  the  speech  and  of  its 
delivery.  As  "  composition"  is  still  retained,  where  the  ques- 
tion turns  exclusively  upon  the  intrinsic  merits  of  the  pieces, 
we  cannot  perceive  the  wisdom  of  retaining  the  "  original 
oration."  The  debates  were  allowed  to  occupy  a  longer  time. 
The  Trustees  were  no  longer  the  judges,  as  was  the  case  at 
first;  After  some  trouble  and  various  conferences,  it  was  at 
length  settled  to  adopt  the  plan  of  each  Society  selecting  two 
judges,  and  these  an  umpire. 

One  of  the  historians  of  the  Philo  Literary  Society  has 
given  the  following  account  of  the  first  ten  years  of  the  Society : 
"  In  taking  a  view  of  the  state  of  Society,  during  the  first 
decade,  we  find  several  things  in  addition  to  what  has  already 
been  stated,  worthy  of  special  observation.  And  first  with 
regard  to  the  number  of  members.  The  chief  difficulty  under 
which  the  Society  labored,  for  a  number  of  years  after  its 
formation,  was  the  fewness  of  its  members.  It  commenced 
its  operations  with  twelve  ;  and  for  several  years,  this  number 
increased  but  very  little.  If,  therefore,  very  many  of  the 
members  were  absent,  through  sickness  or  otherwise,  it  was 
felt  by  the  Society.  And  we  find  the  epoch  in  the  first  report 
ever  presented  to  the  Society,  mourning  over  the  fact  that 
geveral  of  the  members  were  prevented  by  sickness  from 
attending  to  their  duties.  In  May,  1798,  Society  adjourned, 
on  account  of  two  members  being  absent.  And  on  April  4th, 
of  the  same  year,  the  members  convened,  but  did  not  proceed 
to  business,  on  account  of  the  greatest  number  of  them  being 
sick  with  the  mumps.     In  July,  1708,  Society  adjourned  two 


THE  PHILO   LITERARY   SOCIETY.  149 

weeks  during  harvest.  During  the  year  1799,  we  also  find 
Society  on  the  decline,  from  the  fewness  of  members.  The 
office  of  Orthographists  was,  at  that  time,  combined  with 
that  of  Eparch  and  Clerk,  in  order  that  there  might  be  two 
more  performing  members.  This,  however,  was  only  to  con- 
tinue in  force  until  the  necessity  would  be  removed  by  an 
increase  of  members.  In  1801,  Society  was  in  a  more  pros- 
perous condition.  The  number  of  members  had  increased  to 
twenty-seven;  and  consequently  the  exercises  were  attended 
upon  with  more  regularity,  and  with  more  profit.  From  this 
period  until  the  close  of  the  first  ten  years  of  the  Society's 
existence,  the  number  of  members  seems  to  have  varied  but 
little." 

A  historian  of  a  later  period,  mentions  the  fact  that,  for  a 
considerable  time,  they  refused  to  receive  any  more  new  mem- 
bers, in  order  that  the  other  Society  might  be  recruited,  and 
brought  up  to  something  like  an  equality  with  them,  in  point 
of  numbers.  A  similar  course  we  believe  was  pursued  by 
the  Franklin  Society,  in  later  years.  Our  former  historian 
proceeds  :  "  At  the  formation  of  the  Society,  £1  2s.  6d.  was 
contributed  by  the  members ;  which  amount,  it  appears  from 
the  report  of  the  Eparch,  was  expended  for  the  immediate 
wants  of  the  Society,  except  one  shilling  and  one  half  penny. 
For  several  years  the  pecuniary  fund  never  exceeded  one 
pound  at  any  one  time.  In  1801,  (being  about  the  time  they 
commenced  calculating  in  dollars  and  cents,)  there  was  in  the 
treasury  three  dollars  and  seventy-one  cents.  The  treasury, 
however,  did  not  remain  long  empty ;  yet  at  no  time  did  the 
funds  amount  to  five  dollars,  until  an  effort  was  made  to  estab- 
lish a  library.  Closely  connected  with  the  funds  of  the 
society,  is  the  subject  of  fines.  All  breaches  of  order,  at  the 
present  time,  were  punished  in  this  manner ;  though  it  appears, 
much  to  the  honor  of  Society,  that  the  officers  were  seldom 
called  upon  to  impose  fines  upon  the  members.  We  find  the 
Eparch  repeatedly  congratulating  Society  upon  the  fact  that 
13* 


150  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

no  fines  had  been  assessed  during  his  term  of  office.  When 
such  happened  to  be  the  ease,  Society  was  considered  to  be  in 
a  good  state.  And  we  think,  justly.  The  first  fine  ever 
assessed  was  one  sixteenth  of  a  dollar,  upon  Mr.  M'Millan, 
for  not  obtaining  permission  to  speak  an  oration." 

The  highest  importance  was  attached  to  the  observance  of 
secrecy.  Society  was  not  esteemed  in  a  prosperous  condition 
if  members  were  in  the  habit  of  revealing  secrets,  through 
carelessness,  or  otherwise.  In  May,  1798,  on  account  of  somo 
of  the  transactions  of  Society  having  been  divulged,  a  com- 
mittee of  five  persons  were  appointed  to  investigate  the  matter; 
and  on  the  next  meeting,  make  such  a  report  as  their  evidence 
would  justify,  and  the  real  good  of  Society  demanded.  This 
committee  could  not  obtain  evidence  enough  to  convict  any 
member.  Yet  the  motion  to  appoint  such  a  committee  stands 
as  a  memento  of  the  desire  of  the  Society  to  keep  all  their 
transactions  from  being  known  to  any  except  Philos.  This 
feature  of  Society  was  very  objectionable  to  the  good  people 
who  inhabited  Canonsburg  at  the  time  Society  sprung  into 
existence.  One  of  its  founders,  (Mr.  Tate,)  in  a  letter  which 
was  written  in  answer  to  some  inquiries,  remarks  on  this 
point :  "  There  was  much  excitement  in  town,  and  even  in 
the  country,  because  we  kept  the  doors  shut  against  all  but 
Philos,  and  would  not  tell  what  we  were  doing  :  and  to  keep 
our  doings  secret,  we  made  window  blinds  of  our  great  coats, 
(we  had  no  cloaks,)  at  the  time.  These  proceedings  gave 
alarm ;  and  some  supposed  that  we  held  a  Free-Mason  lodge, 
and  others  that  there  was  about  to  be  a  resuscitation  of  witch- 
craft," &c. 

"  At  this  day,  perhaps,  it  is  impossible,"  the  historian 
continues,  "  to  form  an  entirely  correct  opinion  on  the  state 
of  feeling  between  the  two  Societies ;  as  we  have  nothing  but 
the  records  of  the  Society  to  guide  our  judgment.  It  is  very 
evident,  from  the  reports  of  the  several  Eparchs,  that  a  spirit 
of  rivalship  generally  existed  between  the  two  Societies ;  and, 


THE   PHILO   LITERARY   SOCIETY.  151 

perhaps,  it  was  sometimes  accompanied  by  rather  bitter  feel- 
ings. In  the  report  of  June,  1802,  the  members  of  the 
Franklin  Society  are  spoken  of  as  competitors,  and  charged 
with  '  having  vainly  and  falsely  boasted  that  the  Philo  Society 
had  lost  its  dignity  and  honor.'  On  another  occasion,  the 
Eparch  urges  the  members  to  persevere  in  the  discharge  of 
their  duties,  stating  that  *  thereby  they  would  be  able  to  with- 
stand the  most  powerful  attacks  of  their  rivals  !'  "  This  spirit 
of  rivalship  owed  its  origin,  no  doubt,  to  the  institution  of 
Contests  ;  as  we  find  but  little  reference  to  any  thing  of  the 
kind,  by  the  Eparchs,  previous  to  their  existence.  We  sup- 
pose that,  at  the  present  day,  no  one  will  be  disposed  to  deny 
that  such  a  spirit  of  emulation  had  a  tendency  to  advance  the 
welfare  of  society.  The  members  esteemed  it  a  privilege  to 
beloDg  to  the  Society.  "  To  us,"  says  this  judicious  writer, 
"  surrounded  as  we  are  with  so  many  advantages  which  were 
denied  to  them,  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  our  Society, 
during  its  earlier  days,  may  appear  small  indeed.  But  such 
was  not  the  opinion  of  the  primitive  Philos.  They  thought 
they  were  highly  favored,  indeed,  in  being  permitted  to  enjoy 
the  advantages  of  such  an  institution.  One  of  the  Eparchs, 
in  his  own  peculiar  style,  remarks  :  '  "We  ought,  no  doubt, 
to  muse  upon  the  kindness  of  our  Heavenly  Benefactor,  in 
giving  us  a  seat  in  such  a  Society,  where  we  may  have  our 
minds,  which  are  deeply  immersed  in  ignorance,  cultivated 
and  prepared,  in  some  measure,  to  answer  the  great  end  of 
our  creation.'  This  opinion,  of  course,  had  a  very  beneficial 
tendency.  It  made  the  members  more  attentive  to  the  exer- 
cises of  Society,  and  assisted  in  forming  that  attachment  for 
it  which  never  leaves  the  breast  of  a  true  Philo."  "It 
was  esteemed  an  indispensable  part  of  the  duty  of  each  mem- 
ber to  use  every  exertion  to  advance  the  dignity  of  Society. 
It  was  supposed  not  sufficient,  merely  to  adhere  strictly  to 
those  laws  which  related  to  the  exercises  of  Society ;  but  that 
those  which  had  a  reference  to  the  conduct  of  members,  both 


152  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

in  and  out  of  Society,  should  be  observed  with  great  strict- 
ness. Especially  were  the  members  urged  to  have  a  particular 
regard  to  their  conduct  out  of  Society;  knowing  that,  if  it 
was  becoming,  it  would  reflect  honor  upon  Society.  They 
were  frequently  advised  to  pay  strict  attention  to  the  duties 
of  the  Academy,  as,  in  that  way,  the  character  of  the  Society 
might  be  greatly  advanced.  Neatness  of  dress  and  suavity 
of  manners,  were  considered  requisite  in  Philos.  One  of  the 
Eparchs,  in  alluding  to  these  particulars,  remarks  :  '  The  stu- 
dents of  this  place  have  often  been  remarked  for  their  rus- 
ticity. Let  this  never  be  remarked  of  Philos.  As  rusticity 
is  neither  virtuous  nor  honorable,  let  each  one  endeavor  to 
excel- in  the  elegance  of  his  manners.' 

"  Such  is  an  imperfect  picture  of  the  Philo  Society  during 
the  first  ten  years  of  its  existence.  When  we  reflect  upon 
the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  formed,  and  the  difficul- 
ties which  it  had  to  encounter  in  its  progress,  we  cannot  but 
admire  the  wisdom  and  perseverance  of  its  founders.  In  the 
laws  which  were  formed  for  its  government,  we  discern  the 
traces  of  no  inferior  minds ;  and  in  overcoming  the  obstacles 
which  retarded  its  advancement,  we  see  a  zeal  which  an  ardent 
thirst  of  learning,  and  the  hope  of  being  useful,  could  alone 
have  inspired.  Besides  these  motives,  we  can  conceive  of  but 
few  others  which  would  have  induced  persons  to  attach  them- 
selves to  Society.  For  it  was  not  in  a  hall  hung  with  gaudy 
tapestry,  and  spread  with  the  richest  carpet ;  it  had  no  forty- 
dollar  chair  in  which  the  Archon  might  sit  at  ease.  The  mem- 
bers had  no  other  seats  but  long  sawed  planks,  with  stool  feet ; 
no  desks,  no  plastered  walls,  nor  ceiling  over  their  heads. 
The  love  of  literature,  and  a  desire  of  being  useful,  therefore, 
was  the  stimulus  which  enabled  them  to  overcome  every  obsta- 
cle, and  to  found  the  Philo  Literary  Society — a  Society  to 
which  many  have  since  been  proud  to  belong." 

The  writer  of  the  above  sketch,  as  found  in  the  historical 
records  of  the  Philo  Society,  is  the  Eev.  William  Eaton, 


THE   PHILO   LITERARY   SOCIETY.  153 

now  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Morgantown,  Vir- 
ginia. 

We  have  little  more  to  add.  In  1831,  the  Societies  got 
their  new  and  beautiful  halls.  The  Philo  Society  seems  to 
have  spared  no  pains  nor  expense  in  adorning  and  beautifying 
their  room.  After  a  costly  outfit  of  chairs,  desks,  rich  tapes- 
try, candelabras,  &c,  they  took  formal  possession  on  the  23d 
of  June,  1832.  The  amusing  style  in  which  they  record  their 
defeats  and  triumphs,  at  the  Contests,  during  those  times,  is 
the  last  thing  we  shall  notice.  In  1829,  when  the  Franklin 
Society  obtained  most  of  the  honors  in  the  Contest,  the  Philo 
historian  remarks  :  "  At  this  Contest,  our  defeat  was  almost 
as  the  last.  Our  champions  went  forth,  armed  with  mail  and 
spear,  only  to  be  borne  back,  wounded,  upon  their  own  shields. 
The  Composition  was  taken  by  the  Franks  :  the  Debate  and 
Oration  were  divided.  These  disastrous  consequences  were, 
doubtless,  to  be  traced  to  the  spirit  of  indolence  and  misrule, 
to  which  the  minutes  of  last  year  bear  lamentable  evidence. 
Success  was  impossible,  and  our  household  gods  were  left  to 
the  mercy  of  the  Goths  I"  But  when,  in  1832,  they  could 
record  their  triumphs,  the  style  is  equally  amusing  :  "  The 
spirit  of  the  Philo  Society  was  on  the  ascendant.  Victory 
perched  upon  her  banners,  not  again  to  take  its  flight  till  the 
noble  sons  of  the  Philo  Literary  Society  had  swept  the  entire 
field,  and  struck  astonishment  and  dismay  into  the  ranks  of 
our  rivals.  Mr.  E..,  our  Composer,  and  Mr.  R.,  our  Debater, 
were  crowned  as  victors,  while  the  Franklins  took  only  their 
favorite,  the  honor  in  select  speaking."  This  style  is  really 
rich  and  amusing,  and  reminds  us  of  many  a  passage  in 
Weem's  Life  of  Washington  and  of  Marion.  The  insinuation 
about  the  favorite  of  the  Franklin  Society,  is  highly  divert- 
ing, in  view  of  signal  triumphs  of  that  Society  in  the  other 
exercises,  during  some  of  the  previous  years,  which  the  Philos 
were  obliged  to  record.  But  who  would  begrudge  them  their 
chuckle,  when  their  historian  read  this  passage  ? 


154  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 


We  now  proceed  to  give  the  history  of 

<fc  (K  iFranhltn  4T 1 1  c  r  a  r  9  <S  0  c  t  c  1 9 . 

From  an  Address  of  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Passavant,  delivered  before  that  Society,  at  its 
Semicentennial  Anniversary,  November  14,  1847. 

The  origin  of  the  Franklin  Society  may  he  recorded  in 
a  few  words.  The  place — the  Canonshurg  Academy ;  the 
time — November  14th,  1797  ;  the  hour — seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening — Sunday  evening  last,  fifty  years  ago;  ihe  founders — - 
nine  students — James  Carnahan,  Cephas  Dodd,  James  Gal- 
braith,  Thomas  Hughes,  David  Imbrie,  Jacob  Lindlt/,  Stephen 
Lindly,  William  Wood,  and  William  Wick.  Of  this  first 
meeting,  it  has  been  truly  remarked — "  Many  a  larger  assem- 
bly has  had  a  less  lasting  influence  !'" 

The  early  laws  and  regulations  of  the  Society  are  unfortu- 
nately lost.  Some  Solon,  zealous  in  the  collection  of  insti- 
tutes, has  probably  abstracted  them  from  the  minute-book. 
The  original  constitution,  however,  did  not  materially  differ 
from  the  present  one,  and  the  objects  which  convened  the  first 
assembly — "  Scientia,  Amicitia  et  Virtus/'  have  weekly 
assembled  its  members  for  half  a  century. 

It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  notice,  that  the  first  resolution  ever 
passed  by  the  Society  was,  that  "  The  members  be  required 
to  keep  its  business  a  profound  secret."  So  fearful  were  they 
of  any  violation  of  this,  that  members  were  not  permitted  to 
read  an  essay  in  the  Academy,  which  had  already  been  read 
in  Society.  Subsequently,  when  leakages  were  discovered  in 
certain  quarters,  married  students  were  not  eligible  to  mem- 
bership. The  principle  of  secrecy  then  laid  down,  has  ever 
since  been  sacredly  recognized;  and  though  its  application 
has  been  occasionally  carried  to  an  excessive  degree  of  strict- 
ness, the  wisdom  of  this  regulation  must  be  apparent  to  all. 

Of  the  nine  members  who  founded  the  Society,  Jive  were 
officers — a  Chairman,  Clerk,  Inspector,  and   two  Correctors. 


THE   FRANKLIN   LITERARY   SOCIETY.  155 

The  duties  of  the  Inspector  answered  to  those  of  Vice  Presi- 
dent, but  it  was  made  his  duty  "  in  particular,  to  watch  over 
the  morals  of  the  members,  and  their  diligence  and  attention 
to  the  business  of  the  Academy."  Judging  by  the  number 
of  citations  on  the  minutes,  this  duty  was  faithfully  performed. 
It  was  one  of  the  duties  of  the  Correctors,  "  to  see  that  the 
minutes  were  well  written,  and  to  give  out  the  words  for  the 
members  to  spell."  The  Society  was  divided  into  three  classes, 
and  these  performances  are  thus  recorded  on  the  minutes — 
"  One  class  offered  compositions  and  translations ;  another 
spoke  select  speeches;  and  a  third  read  and  spelled."  Every 
one  was  required  to  read  his  essay  carefully  over  before 
attempting  it  in  Society,  and  if  found  to  have  neglected  this, 
he  was  fined.  Members  from  the  lower  classes  of  the  Acad- 
emy were  allowed  to  present  translations  from  some  Latin 
author,  in  lieu  of  a  composition  of  their  own.  Those  who 
debated  were  not  exempt  from  the  performances  of  their 
class — a  fact  which  indicates  the  low  estimate  in  which  this 
exercise  was  then  held.  This  order  continued  until  1810, 
when  important  changes  were  made  in  the  constitution  and 
by-laws.  In  1817,  the  constitution  was  again  revised  and 
amended;  and  from  that  period  the  minutes  wear  a  more 
modern  dress.  The  subjects  of  the  essays  are  no  longer  tran- 
scribed— the  Chairman  becomes  a  President,  the  Inspector  a 
Vice  President,  the  Clerk  a  Secretary,  and  the  Correctors  were 
dignified  as  Reviewers.  At  that  time,  too,  a  distinction  was 
first  made  between  the  merits  of  an  argument  and  those  of 
the  question.  Debate  was  made  the  exclusive  performance 
of  one  class,  so  that  as  many  as  eight  members  would  partici- 
pate in  the  discussion.  After  this  year,  the  exercise  of  spell- 
ing is  no  longer  mentioned,  and  the  "  spelling  class"  was 
remembered  only  with  a  smile  at  the  simplicity  of  early  times. 
And  here  we  pause  and  direct  your  attention  to  the  char- 
acter of  these  exercises.  Would  that  the  power  were  given 
us,  to  wake  again  the  long  silent  echoes  of  former  years. 


156  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

But  the  breathing  energy,  the  living  voice  is  gone,  and  its 
earnest  tones  have  passed  away  with  those  who  gave  them 
utterance.  The  glow  of  impassioned  eloquence  hath  left  no 
traces  of  its  power ;  and  the  flashes  of  wit,  like  the  drops  of 
morning  dew,  cannot  be  gathered  again.  The  grace,  the 
sparkle,  and  the  form  are  gone  !  To  them,  as  to  us  who  suc- 
ceeded them  in  later  years,  the  Society  was  a  world  in  miniature. 
Its  circle  bounded  the  sphere  in  which  they  moved.  It  had 
its  chiefs  and  subordinates — its  parties  and  divisions — its 
objects  of  ambition  and  objects  of  jealousy — its  ardent  friend- 
ships and  bitter  animosities — its  noble  strifes  for  intellectual 
mastery,  and  its  topics  of  deep  and  all-absorbing  interest. 
To  them,  as  to  us  who  occupied  their  places,  the  observance 
of  its  laws  and  the  performance  of  its  duties,  seemed  as  vitally 
important  as  though  the  destiny  of  an  empire  depended  on 
the  issue  ;  and,  like  us,  they  entered  into  its  exciting  life  with 
the  whole  ardor  and  enthusiasm  of  youth.  We  cannot  pro- 
nounce on  the  merits  of  these  early  performances,  or  institute 
a  comparison  between  them  and  those  of  the  present  day. 
The  age  and  manners  of  the  people  were  widely  different  from 
ours ;  and  these  often  gave  character  to  the  exercises  of  Society. 
But,  while  we  at  times  involuntarily  exclaim — 0  sancta  sim.- 
pHcitas  !  oftener  can  we  discover,  in  the  subject  of  an  essay, 
or  the  wording  of  a  question,  the  presence  of  a  secret  power, 
which,  in  after  years,  made  itself  felt  in  the  councils  of  the 
nation,  or  the  churches  of  God. 

In  perusing  the  annals  of  the  Society,  in  the  first  years  of 
its  existence,  we  are  struck  with  the  tone  and  character  of 
its  decisions  on  some  of  the  great  questions  which  now  agi- 
tate the  frame-work  of  American  society.  To  select  one 
instance  onty,  from  many — as  early  as  1798,  the  question — 
"  Would  it  be  politic  in  the  Southern  States  to  abolish  Negro 
Slavery?"  was  discussed  and  decided  in  the  affirmative  !  A 
vigorous  writer,  of  the  last  century,  in  speaking  of  the  Uni- 
versities of  Europe,  remarks,  "  Colleges  have  always  been 


THE  FRANKLIN  LITERARY  SOCIETY.  157 

the  cradles  of  liberal  principles. "  The  truth  of  the  observa- 
tion is  strikingly  confirmed  in  the  history  of  this  Institution. 
The  atmosphere  of  ^freedom  floated  over  and  around  it — inspir- 
ing its  sons  with  a  quenchless  love  of  liberty,  and  impelled 
them  to  write  upon  the  monstrous  system  of  human  slavery, 
"  delenda  est !"  They  fervently  sympathized  with  the  manly 
utterance  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  on  this  subject,  and  in  the 
hopefulness  of  truthful  hearts,  anticipated  the  hour 

"  When  Heaven  upon  our  ransomed  race 
Her  bounteous  gifts  shall  shower  j 
And  every  land  and  every  sea 
Proclaims  the  blissful  Jubilee — 
All  bonds  are  broke,  all  men  are  free  I" 

On  other  moral  subjects,  some  of  their  decisions  are 
strangely  at  variance  with  the  common  verdict  of  society  at 
the  present  day.  Thus,  the  question,  "  Would  it  not  be  more 
advantageous  to  cease  the  distillation  of  rye  and  raise  more 
wheat?"  was  unanimously  decided  in  favor  of  "the  Rye  !" 
Some  time  after  this  decision,  a  similar  question  was  dis- 
cussed— "  Is  not  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors  more  injurious 
than  beneficial  to  a  country  V  This,  also,  was  decided  "  in 
favor  of  spirituous  liquors  I"  These  decisions  throw  a  strong 
light  on  the  popular  sentiment  of  that  day,  and  may  be 
accounted  for  without  difficulty.  The  business  of  distilling 
was  considered  as  respectable  in  that  day  as  making  flour,  and 
the  use  of  whisky  was  as  universal  as  coffee  or  tea  at  the 
present  time.  No  one  was  "  Sessioned,"  whether  Minister, 
Elder  or  Member,  for  taking  as  much  as  could  be  comfortably 
carried  about  their  persons — though  drunkenness  was  univer- 
sally discountenanced  and  denounced  ! 

A  rich  vein  of  humor  often  ran  through  the  early  perform- 
ances of  the  Society.  A  wider  latitude,  in  this  respect,  was 
given  to  the  members,  than  at  present;  and  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  subjects  of  debate  and  composition  recorded  on  the 
minutes,  they  made  good  use  of  their  liberty.  Thus,  for 
14 


158  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

instance,  one  member  read  a  dialogue  between  "  A  Student 
and  a  Tailor/'  while  another  presented  a  dialogue  between 
"  A  Spider  and  a  Fly."  A  youth  who  had,  doubtless,  tasted 
sweeter  dews  than  those  of  Castalia,  edified  Society  with  an 
eloquent  essay  on  "  Kissing."  Brunot  graphically  described 
"  the  pleasure  of  having  a  clean  pocket  handkerchief." 
White  convulsed  the  Society  with  laughter  by  a  "  description 
of  a  Country  Singing  School."  Like  the  individual  com- 
mended in  the  English  Bards  and  Scotch  Reviewers,  for  his 
happy  selection  of  a  subject  suited  to  his  capacities — a  stupid 
fellow  read,  as  an  essay,  "  a  description  of  an  Ass."  Black 
enlightened  Society  "on  his  own  weakness,"  while  Wills  feel- 
ingly described  "  the  Itch." 

If  we  may  judge  from  the  same  records,  the  days  of  Chiv* 
airy  were  not  yet  over.  There  was  a  remnant  of  the  old  spirit 
which  kindled  into  enthusiasm  at  woman's  name,  and  fervently 
knelt  at  the  shrine  of  her  beauty,  or  broke  a  lance  in  defence 
of  her  charms.  Thus  the  question — "  Is  female  modesty 
natural  or  artificial  ?"  being  debated  at  one  of  the  first  meet- 
ings of  the  Society,  it  was  decided,  by  acclamation,  to  be 
natural.  The  question  "  ought  a  man  to  whip  his  wife  on 
any  occasion  ?"  was  gallantly  decided  in  the  negative.  The 
interesting  question,  "Is  it  proper  that  ladies  should  be 
deprived  of  courting,  of  which  they  are  deprived  by  custom 
in  this  country  ?"  was  discussed  "  with  much  warmth,"  as 
the  faithful  Secretary  informs  us,  and  this  custom  of  our 
country  was  strongly  condemned  !  It  has  been  hinted  that 
if  ladies  would  only  take  the  invitation  given  by  Franklins 
of  tried  and  sterling  worth,  the  rooms  of  Collegians  would 
undergo  an  entire  transformation.  The  gloomy  old  cloisters 
would  smile  and  brighten,  to  enclose  such  angelic  visitants. 
The  chivalry  of  '96,  in  the  very  face  of  the  constitution, 
politely  decided  "  that  the  fair  sex  of  Canonsburg  should  be 
admitted  into  the  Franklin  Society,"  while  her  ungallant  sons 
of  1847  show  no  mercy  to  the  poor  unfortunate  who  has 


THE   FRANKLIN   LITERARY   SOCIETY.  159 

launched  his  hark  on  the  sea  of  matrimony — and,  for  this  one 
offence,  debar  him  from  membership  ! 

The  subjects  of  many  of  the  essays,  read  in  Society  at  this 
early  day,  strongly  bring  out  the  isame  sentiment.  Thus,  it 
is  recorded,  that  Mitchell  gave  "  a  description  of  a  beautiful 
damsel;"  M' Donald,  "  an  argument  to  prove  that  the  female 
sex  is  the  life  of  society  •"  Jennings  wrote  "  on  the  romance 
of  a  lady ;"  Bates  "  on  preserving  a  medium  in  visiting  the 
fair  sex  ;"  Roberts  "  on  female  efficacy  ;"  Chaplain  "  on  the 
cboice  of  a  wife;"  Sturgeon  "  on  the  felicity  of  the  married 
state;"  while  Clayton  brought  the  whole  Society  to  the  high- 
est pitch  of  indignation  by  "a  love-letter,"  purporting  to 
have  been  written  by  an  injured  and  broken-hearted  fair  one  ! 
A  solitary  individual,  Caldwell,  had  the  fortitude  to  stem  the 
popular  current  of  opinion,  and  chose  for  the  subject  of  his 
essay,  "  the  horrid  practice  of  dancing  with  the  girls  !" 

We  resume  the  thread  of  our  history.  In  this  age  of  gold- 
dust  and  dollars,  when  Mammon  rules  most  imperiously  over 
the  thoughts,  feelings,  and  conduct  of  men,  it  will  not  be 
uninteresting  to  state  a  few  facts  concerning  the  financial  his- 
tory of  the  Society.  Of  this,  little  can  be  said,  so  badly  has 
the  business  been  managed,  and  so  disordered  are  the  old 
accounts.  Students  have  never  received  much  credit  for  busi- 
ness habits,  and  are  far  more  worthy  of  a  diploma  for  their 
spending,  than  their  saving  propensities — as  the  good  people 
of  these  parts  are  duly  aware  !  Like  the  country  apprentice, 
just  opening  a  shop  of  his  own,  the  Society,  at  first,  "  kept 
no  books;"  and,  in  the  reports  of  the  Inspectors,  no  mention 
is  made  of  expenses.  Each  member,  in  turn,  furnished  can- 
dles, brought  water,  and  kept  the  door,  at  the  meetings  of 
Society.  "  Lifting  a  collection,"  was  the  usual  method 
resorted  to,  when  funds  were  needed.  Six  years  after  the 
organization  of  Society,  the  rule  was  adopted  requiring 
entrance  moneys.  The  first  initiation  fee  was  only  twenty-five 
cents  !     From  1811  to  1823,  it  was  one  dollar  ;  in  the  latter 


160  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

year  it  was  raised  to  two  dollars,  and  in  1832,  a  further  addi- 
tion of  several  dollars  was  made.  What  it  now  is,  those  who 
have  paid  it  know  already ;  while  those  who  are  curious,  on 
this  point,  are  invited  to  make  the  discovery  as  the  speaker 
did. 

It  has  been  truly  remarked,  that  the  doctrine  of  fining  has 
always  been  kept  alive,  with  religious  fervor,  in  the  Franklin 
Society.  Some  of  the  early  punishments,  and  the  ludicrous 
manner  in  which  they  are  recorded  on  the  old  minutes,  will 
serve  to  illustrate  the  manners  of  the  primitive  Franklins. 
The  following  are  selected,  as  specimens,  from  many.  Sinclair 
and  Wilson  were  fined  one  cent  each,  "  for  laughing  and  talk- 
ing'without  permission."  Henderson  was  fined  five  cents, 
for  "  a  ridiculous  composition,"  and  two  cents  additional, 
"  for  frequently  changing  his  own  seat  without  permission." 
Moore  was  excused  from  performance  "  because  he  had  no  ink 
to  write  his  composition."  Graham  was  punished  with  a  fine 
for  "a  continuation  of  cachinations."  Knott  was  find  six 
cents,  for  "  offering  a  nocturnal  sacrifice  to  Somnus ;"  and 
Wallace  the  same  sum  "  for  holding  the  poker  in  his  hand 
while  debating."  Among  the  delinquents,  at  a  later  day,  the 
name  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  Smith  occurs,  whose  book-worm 
propensities,  even  at  that  early  period,  led  him  into  the  temp- 
tation of  keeping  books  out  of  the  Library  beyond  the 
constitutional  time  ! 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  Society  extended  over  the  conduct 
of  its  members,  not  only  while  in  session,  but  also  during  the 
intervals.  The  early  minutes  contain  many  curious  records 
in  proof  of  this  fact.  Members  were  tried  for  profanity,  play- 
ing cards,  and  becoming  intoxicated — and,  on  conviction,  were 
fined,  suspended,  or  expelled,  according  to  the  aggravation  of 
their  offence.  One  member  was  found  guilty  of  "  acting  dis- 
orderly in  the  streets  of  Canonsburg,"  and  fined  accordingly. 
The  no-punishment  doctrine,  so  popular  at  the  present  day 
with  a  certain  class  of   self-styled  Reformers,  was  utterly 


THE   FRANKLIN   LITERARY   SOCIETY.  161 

eschewed  by  the  original  Franklins.  All  deviations  from  law, 
both  in  and  out  of  Society,  were  dealt  with  according  to  their 
just  deserts.  The  Society  soon  became  a  terror  to  evil  doers, 
and  a  praise  to  those  who  did  well.  Its  moral  influence  over 
the  students,  was,  in  the  highest  degree,  salutary,  and  often 
drew  from  the  Faculty  and  Trustees  of  the  College,  a  public 
acknowledgment  of  its  worth. 

An  interesting  page  in  the  history  of  the  Society,  contains 
the  account  of  its  judicial  proceedings.  The  strictness  of  the 
early  regulations,  savor  rather  strongly  of  the  celebrated  Blue- 
laws,  and  the  zeal  with  which  they  were  enforced,  reminds 
one  of  the  activity  displayed  by  the  good  people  of  New 
England,  in  burning  witches  and  banishing  Quakers,  and 
other  heretics,  out  of  their  coasts. 

Three  lists  were  kept  of  the  members.  One  contained  the 
names  of  the  regular  members ;  a  second,  the  honorary ;  and 
the  third,  called  "The  Black  List,"  the  names  of  those  who 
were  under  the  censure  of  Society.  The  first  case  of  suspen- 
sion occurred  some  months  after  the  organization  of  the 
Society,  and  was  for  "  long  continued  neglect  of  the  duties 
of  a  member.' '  The  next  trial  was  that  of  M' Griffin,  "  for 
having  left  Society  in  a  disorderly  manner."  When  his  trial 
came  on,  "he  acknowledged  his  fault,  and,  on  account  of  his 
youth  and  inexperience,  was  restored,  with  no  other  punish- 
ment than  reproof."  Such  instances  of  leniency  were  not 
rare.  A  few  weeks  after  the  above,  another  M'Giffin  was 
cited  by  the  Inspector  to  answer  the  charges  of  "  disrespect 
of  Society,  gambling  for  money,  and  violating  the  Sabbath 
day."  Each  of  these  crimes  he  confessed,  but,  on  appearing 
sorrowful,  was  continued  a  member,  as  usual.  In  spite  of 
sorrow  and  forgiveness,  however,  these  M'Giffins  again  wan- 
dered from  Franklin  rectitude.  One  was  punished  with  expul- 
sion from  Society  "  for  absenting  himself" — and  the  other 
"for  profanity,"  was  deprived  of  "acting  the  Dialogue  at  the 
Contest !" 
14* 


162  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

The  next  trial  of  consequence,  was  on  the  impeachment  of 
James  Lytle.  The  impeachment  itself,  is  an  amusing  instance 
of  legal  precision.  Several  charges  were  made.  1st.  That 
he,  the  said  James,  being  a  member  of  said  Society,  on  the 
16th  of  February,  A.  D.  1803,  vi  et  armis — did  beat,  and  in 
other  respects  evilly  entreat  Joseph  Henderson,  of  said 
Society,  without  resistance  being  made,  or  actual  assault  given 
by  said  Joseph.  2d.  Also,  that  the  said  James,  notwithstand- 
ing he  was  honored  with  the  office  of  Clerk  of  said  Society, 
did,  some  subsequent  time  to  said  16th  of  February,  willfully 
drink  spirituous  liquors,  by  which  he,  the  said  James,  was 
very. much  intoxicated,  and  being  so  intoxicated,  did  not  con- 
ceal himself  from  public  view,  but  did  act  in  a  very  disorderly 
manner."  The  third  charge  was  for  betting  for  liquors — "  to 
wit,  whisky  and  cider."  The  fourth  charged  him  with  "  act- 
ing riotously  at  3Iorrow's  Tavern,  and  bantering  James  Smith 
to  fight,  either  in  a  lot  or  even  in  the  streets  of  Canonsburg  !" 
The  fifth  charge  was  for  neglect  of  his  duties  as  a  student  and 
as  a  member  of  Society.  On  this  multifarious  impeachment, 
Lytle  was  tried  and  found  guilty.  For  the  four  first  crimes, 
he  was  fined  heavily — and  for  the  fifth,  received  an  admoni- 
tion before  Society.  He  was,  also,  required  to  confess  sorrow 
for  his  past  conduct,  and  to  promise  reformation  for  the  future. 

The  minutes,  about  this  period,  are  crowded  with  such  cases, 
and  citation  and  impeachment  appear  to  have  been  the  order 
of  the  day  !  In  1808,  the  Chairman  was  impeached  for  not 
opening  and  closing  Society  with  prayer.  A  member  was 
admonished,  before  Society,  for  saying  "by  Ned!"  Fulton, 
who  reported  Morgan  to  the  proper  authority,  for  profanity, 
was  himself  convicted  of  profanity,  saying  "by  George!" 
This  appears  to  have  been  a  profane  period  in  our  history. 
Several  were  fined  for  swearing,  while  some  were  suspended, 
according  to  the  aggravation  of  the  crime.  Two  members 
were  found  guilty  of  "card-playing  and  dice-casting,"  for 
which  they  were  suspended  four  weeks.     Hunter  was  tried 


THE   FRANKLIN   LITERARY    SOCIETY.  163 

on  the  charge  of  "  having  himself  shaved  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
in  his  room,  at  the  house  of  Joshua  Emery."  Of  this  he 
was  acquitted,  but  another  member  convicted  of  the  same 
offence  was  suspended  ! 

The  darkest  page  in  the  history  of  the  Society  occurs  about 
this  time.  An  unhappy  spirit  of  dissension  had  found  its 
way  into  the  brotherhood,  and  the  fine  feelings  of  friendship 
were  turned  into  the  bitterest  hatred.  Accusations  were 
signed  by  the  members  against  each  other,  and  few,  if  any  of 
the  officers  escaped  impeachment.  A  member,  named  Wills, 
who  had  previously  been  convicted  of  profanity,  and  severely 
punished,  was  again  cited  to  answer  the  charge  of  a  similar 
offence.  With  this  accusation,  opened  the  stormiest  period  in 
the  history  of  the  Society  !  Having  been  found  guilty  of 
the  crime  alleged,  a  punishment  was  annexed  by  the  officers, 
not  only  unnecessarily  severe,  but  in  the  highest  degree 
arbitrary.  The  Society,  however,  sanctioned  the  decision  of 
its  officers,  and  refused  to  entertain  a  motion  to  reconsider  the 
whole  matter.  Wills  refusing  to  submit  to  the  punishment 
imposed,  was  expelled  on  the  following  evening,  immediately 
after  the  opening  of  Society.  Smarting  under  this  treatment, 
and  evidently  wishing  to  create  a  disturbance,  he  sought  re- 
admission  into  the  Society ;  but  his  request  was  refused.  His 
perseverance,  however,  overcame  all  obstacles ;  and  two  weeks 
later,  having  again  asked  for  admission,  his  request  was 
granted.  The  question  then  arose,  whether  he  should  be  re- 
admitted without  taking  the  promise  to  obey  the  constitution, 
usually  administered  at  the  entrance  of  new  members.  Owing 
to  the  difference  of  opinion  on  this  point  among  the  members, 
a  motion  was  made  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dunlap,  then  President 
of  the  College,  should  have  a  vote  in  the  settlement  of  this 
question.  This  proposal  excited  the  indignation  of  a  portion 
of  the  members  to  such  a  degree,  that  when  the  motion  was 
put  to  vote,  it  instantly  occasioned  the  disruption  of  the  Society! 
The  Secretary  of  that  meeting,  in  recording  these  disgraceful 


104  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE 

proceedings,  mentions  that  "  the  vote  was  carried  •"  but  a 
"Nota  Bene"  is  here  inserted  by  the  President,  in  these 
words — "  Here  is  a  positive  falsehood,  for  a  vote  was  refused 
to  Mr.  Dunlap,  in  the  case  of  Wills,  and  upon  this  refusal, 
the  supporters  of  order  and  morality  withdrew."  "  But 
when  it  was  determined,"  continues  the  Secretary,  "that  Mr. 
Wills  should  be  admitted  without  taking  the  usual  promise, 
the  Society,  after  having  spent  the  whole  evening  in  warm 
debates,  dissolved,  sixteen  declaring  themselves  to  be  no  more 
members."  This  occurred  in  December,  1803.  To  the  min- 
utes of  this  meeting  the  name  of  the  Secretary  is  not  attached ; 
but  the  Chairman  gives  the  reason  why  the  above  N.  B.  was 
added — "  To  give  a  true  idea  of  matters  to  future  readers." 
A  week  passed  by,  and  the  difficulty  remained  unsettled. 
The  usual  evening  of  meeting  arrived,  but  no  Society  con- 
vened. In  reality,  it  no  longer  existed ;  and  members  con- 
sidered themselves  free  from  all  obligations  to  obey  the 
constitution.  At  length  the  Faculty  of  the  College  took  the 
matter  into  consideration,  and  a  reconciliation  was  effected 
between  the  two  parties.  A  meeting  was  held,  two  weeks 
after  its  dismemberment,  and  through  their  intervention  the 
Society  was  again  re-organized.  Of  this  meeting,  however, 
two  distinct  and  contradictory  statements  are  contained  in  the 
minutes.  One  of  these  asserts,  that  it  was  the  unanimous 
opinion  of  the  Faculty,  that  the  Society  should  not  be  dis- 
solved, but  should  continue  to  meet  as  usual,  some  amend- 
ments being  made  in  its  constitution.  The  other  account 
states,  that  "the  proceedings  of  the  former  Franklin  Society, 
having  been  for  some  time  disorderly  and  immoral,  a  number 
of  the  members,  deeming  the  end  for  which  it  was  instituted 
defeated,  protested  against  the  proceedings  and  withdrew." 
After  this  an  entire  cessation  of  business  took  place.  The 
Faculty  of  the  College  took  the  state  of  the  Society  into  con- 
sideration, and  agreed  that  it  should  be  dissolved,  and  a  new 
one  instituted  by  such  of  the  old  members  as  they  should 


THE  FRANKLIN  LITERARY  SOCIETY.  165 

nominate.  Some  of  these  having  been  called  together,  agreed 
to  obey  the  constitution,  with  various  amendments,  and  to 
constitute  a  new  Society,  bearing  the  name  of  the  former. 
None  who  were  members  of  the  old  Society  were  made 
acquainted  with  the  business  of  the  new,  previous  to  their 
becoming  members  of  it;  and  it  was  resolved,  that  the  new 
members  should  not  have  access  to  the  minutes  of  the  old 
Society.  "It  was  also  resolved,  that  the  minutes  also  be 
written  from  that  time,  without  any  reference  to  the  past."  * 
With  these  distinct  and  contradictory  accounts  to  perplex  and 
embarrass  the  mind  of  the  Franklin  historian,  it  becomes  a 
matter  of  no  small  difficulty  to  date  the  origin  of  the  Society. 
As,  however,  the  new  Association  was  composed  of  a  majority 
of  the  old  members,  met  for  the  same  purpose,  and  governed 
by  the  same  constitution,  in  the  main,  we  shall  not  hesitate 
to  trace  back  our  origin,  as  we  have  always  done,  to  November 
11th,  1797.  Few  of  the  present  members  know  anything  of 
this  unfortunate  dismemberment.  So  strong  is  the  golden 
chain  of  friendship,  which  now  binds  all  hearts  together, 
none  would  have  imagined  that  it  had  been  rudely  broken  ! 

During  the  first  years  of  its  existence  the  Society  was  with- 
out a  library.  The  want  of  books  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
seriously  felt,  and  no  efforts  were  made  to  procure  them.  It 
is  a  singular  historical  fact,  that  the  present  library  originated 
in  the  want  of  a  standard  of  appeal,  by  which  the  merits  of 
the  class  in  spelling  might  be  tested.  To  remedy  this,  a  pro- 
poposal  was  made  on  the  10th  of  September,  1799,  "that  a  col- 
lection be  lifted  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  such  a  Dictionary 
as  may  be  thought  necessary  for  the  Society."  This  proposal, 
after  lying  on  the  minutes  for  one  week,  was  duly  considered 
and  adopted  the  succeeding  evening.  Walker's  Dictionary 
was  selected  as  the  standard,  and  for  many  years  was  used  by 

*  We  are  indebted  for  the  above  account  to  the  manuscript  history  of  the 
Franklin  Literary  Society,  already  referred  to. 


166  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

the  officers  as  the  final  arbiter,  u  when  the  class  came  out  to 
spell!"  This  was  the  first  work  purchased  by  the  Society, 
and  the  first  volume  in  the  library.  Around  this  nucleus  the 
fine  collection  of  books,  which  now  adorns  the  hall  of  the 
Society,  gradually  clustered. 

As  early  as  1813,  the  members  imposed  upon  themselves 
the  payment  of  a  certain  sum  each  session,  towards  the  pur- 
chase of  useful  books  and  the  increase  of  the  library.  Since 
then,  it  has  been  almost  exclusively  from  the  contributions  of 
the  regular  members.  The  present  library  numbers  nearly 
3,000  volumes,  and  comprises  many  of  the  most  valuable 
standard  works  in  the  English  language,  in  History,  Poetry, 
Philosophy,  Theology  and  the  Natural  Sciences.  The  admi- 
rable order  in  which  they  are  kept,  and  the  fine  appearance 
they  present,  never  fail  to  call  forth  the  commendation  of 
strangers  who  visit  the  College ;  while  the  literary  treasures 
they  contain,  and  the  advantages  they  afford,  can  be  appre- 
ciated only  by  those  who  enjoy  them. 

At  first,  the  duties  of  the  present  Librarian  were  attended 
to  by  the  Secretary.  The  Library  was  opened  every  third 
week  on  the  evening  of  Society.  This  order  continued  as 
late  as  1829,  when  it  was  resolved  to  open  it  one  hour  every 
Saturday  afternoon.  Owing  to  the  increase  of  members,  and 
the  taste  for  reading  among  the  students,  it  is  now  opened 
several  times  a  week. 

For  many  years  the  two  Societies  had  their  book-case  in 
common.  In  1821,  the  share  of  the  Franklin  Society  was 
transferred  to  the  Philos,  after  much  financiering  on  both 
sides,  and  the  appointment  of  numerous  committees  to  settle 
this  important  transaction.  The  Society  then  procured  a 
"  standing  library  case,  made  of  pine,  and  painted  green,  hav- 
ing the  words  The  Franklin  Library  painted  in  a  right  line 
along  the  door."  This  elegant  piece  of  furniture  continued 
in  use  until  the  erection  of  the  new  College,  and  as  it  could 
not  be  sold,  was  gratuitously  presented  to  the  Faculty ! 


THE   FRANKLIN   LITERARY   SOCIETY.  167 

The  custom  of  appointing  Library  Committees  every  ses- 
sion, has  existed  ever  since  there  was  a  library.  A  report  of 
such  a  committee,  in  1832,  of  which  Washington  M'Cartney, 
Esq.,  was  Chairman,  still  remains.  This  report  is  particu- 
larly interesting  for  the  information  it  contains,  concerning 
the  library,  and  the  facetious  style  in  which  it  is  written. 
The  number  of  volumes  in  the  library,  at  that  time,  was 
676 ;  and  no  less  than  300  are  reported  as  having  been  lost. 
The  committee  deprecate  in  the  strongest  terms  the  habit  of 
lending  books  to  the  ladies — to  which  custom  they  ungallantly 
attribute  the  loss  of  many  of  the  volumes  !  This  caveat  did 
not,  however,  produce  the  desired  reformation,  and  through 
the  gallantry  of  the  members,  the  library  opened  its  treas- 
ures, as  before,  to  the  fair  readers  of  Canonsburg  and  vicinity. 

As  contests  between  Literary  Societies  were  formerly  pecu- 
liar to  Jefferson  College,  it  becomes  a  matter  of  interest  to 
inquire  into  the  origin  of  this  custom,  which  has  been  intro- 
duced into  the  principal  institutions  of  learning  in  the  South 
and  West.  From  the  minutes  of  August,  1799,  it  appears 
that  a  proposal  was  brought  forward  by  W.  Neile, — "  That  a 
challenge  be  given  to  the  Philo  Literary  Society  for  four  mem- 
bers to  be  chosen  out  of  each  Society,  for  the  purpose  of  read- 
ing compositions,  speaking  select  orations,  and  debating  at 
the  Fall  Examination,  before  the  Trustees,  and  that  they  pub- 
licly give  their  opinion  which  Society  has  gained  the  victory." 

Neile's  proposition  was  received  with  enthusiasm  by  the 
chivalrous  Franklins,  and  a  challenge  to  a  Literary  Contest 
was  forthwith  sent  to  the  Philo  Society,  who  at  once  accepted 
it.  Such  is  the  origin  of  Literary  Contests  in  the  United 
States  !  The  honor  of  their  suggestion  belongs  to  a  member 
of  this  Society ;  and  the  honor  of  their  introduction,  to  the 
Society  itself !  It  may  well  be  asked,  "What  results  may 
not  be  traced  to  that  simple  proposal  on  an  obscure  page  of 
our  Minutes  V  Who  that  has  breathed  the  inspiring  atmos* 
phere  which  this  custom  has  infused  into  College  life,  but  will 


168  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

acknowledge  its  commanding  influence  on  the  minds  of  young 
men.  Doubtless,  it  has  blasted  many  ambitious  hopes,  and 
occasioned  the  bitterest  disappointments.  Its  victories,  too, 
have  sometimes  been  more  fatal  to  character  than  defeat.  But 
these  are  not  necessary  evils,  and,  at  most,  are  confined  to 
few,  while  its  advantages  are  enjoyed  by  all.  They  elevate 
the  standard  of  literary  excellence — discover  and  develop 
latent  talent — exercise  the  judgment — correct  the  taste,  and 
furnish  the  mind  with  proper  incentives  to  exertion.  We 
hesitate  not  to  make  the  assertion — and  its  truthfulness  will 
be  confirmed  by  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  facts — 
that  in  the  Contest  performances  of  these  Societies,  there  are 
specimens  of  as  rare  and  classical  beauty,  as  can  be  found  in 
the  pages  of  the  Spectator,  the  orations  of  Burke,  or  the 
debates  of  Pitt,  Sheridan,  and  Fox ! 

The  Contest  had  not,  at  first,  precisely  the  same  features  as 
at  present.  One  composer,  one  select  orator,  and  two  debaters 
were  annually  chosen.  We  are  not  informed  how  the  debate 
was  managed,  whether  the  honor  was  conferred  on  an  in- 
dividual contester  for  superiority,  or  on  two  of  them  for  their 
Society — as  would  appear  from  the  wording  of  the  proposal. 
At  the  third  Contest,  a  composer  and  orator  were  elected,  and 
two  members  from  each  Society,  "to  act  a  dialogue/'  while 
at  the  next  Contest,  two  were  selected  to  speak,  one  to  read 
a  composition,  and  one  to  take  part  in  a  dialogue.  The  fol- 
lowing year,  the  order  of  exercises  was  again  changed,  and 
the  dialogue  gave  place  to  debate.  At  the  suggestion  of  the 
Trustees,  the  Societies,  in  1814,  made  further  alterations  in 
the  Contest.  The  debate  was  limited  to  two  persons — one 
from  each  Society,  who  were  allowed  to  occupy  twenty-five 
minutes.  This  arrangement,  excepting,  perhaps,  the  limita- 
tion in  the  time  of  performance,  continued  until  1832,  when 
the  original  oration  was  added  to  the  other  exercises.  It 
would  appear,  that  the  honor  of  composition  was,  at  first, 
considered  the  highest.     This  is  probable,  from  the  fact  that 


THE   FRANKLIN   LITERARY   SOCIETY.  169 

one  member  having  resigned  on  composition,  another  who  had 
been  elected  debater,  was  chosen  to  fill  his  place,  and  a  re-elec- 
tion held  for  debate.  The  old  minutes  contain  the  questions 
discussed  at  these  Contests.  Some  of  these  would  puzzle 
older  and  wiser  heads  than  young  shoulders  usually  carry. 
Such,  for  instance,  is  the  question  debated  at  the  contest  of 
1810  :  "  Is  the  soul  created  immediately  at  the  time  of  its 
infusion  into  the  body  ?" 

The  primitive  manner  in  which  the  Contests  were  conducted, 
may  be  conjectured  from  various  amusing  details  recorded  on 
the  minutes.  So  late  as  1817,  a  committee  was  appointed 
"  to  build  the  stage,  hold  the  candles,  snuff  them,  carry  water, 
and  do  all  the  little  drudgeries  implied  in  the  nature  of  their 
office  I"  Their  successors — the  honorable  "  Committee  of 
Arrangements,"  who  now  do  the  honors  of  Society  to  Judges, 
and  fare  sumptuously  with  these  dignitaries,  at  its  expense, 
may  congratulate  themselves  on  this  evidence  of  progress. 
Offices  half  a  century  ago,  were  no  sinecures,  and  "  the  little 
drudgeries"  of  the  above  resolution,  would  now  be  considered 
too  formidable  an  affair  for  any  committee  to  undertake.  It 
was  then,  however,  an  honor  "  to  hold  the  candles,  snuff  them, 
and  carry  the  water,"  which  was  conferred  only  on  members 
of  the  more  advanced  classes  ! 

The  collection  and  transcription  of  the  Contest  performances 
is  of  comparatively  recent  origin,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted 
that  many  of  these  are  irrecoverably  lost.  No  decisions  have 
been  preserved  further  back  than  the  Contest  of  1809.  In 
the  thirty-one  years  which  elapsed  between  that  time  and 
1840,  (since  which  we  have  not  the  decisions,)  our  sister 
Society  has  gained  four  more  debates  and  even  one  more  select 
speech  than  we;  while  the  Franklins  have  borne  away  the 
palm  nine  times  more  for  composition,  and  once  more  for 
original  oration.  We  take  it  for  granted,  that  there  has  been 
no  falling  off  since  then,  and  the  old  Franklin  is  still  excelsior  t 

The  history  of  the  Contest  would  be  incomplete,  unless 

15 


170         HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE. 

reference  were  made  to  the  Articles  of  Convention  between 
the  two  Societies.  In  1818,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Frank- 
lin Society,  the  first  articles  were  formed.  These  were  very 
incomplete,  and  had  little  resemblance  to  those  in  force  at  a 
later  period.  The  correspondence  of  the  Societies  previous 
to  this,  was  marked  by  little  of  the  high  and  honorable  bear- 
ing which  now  characterizes  their  mutual  intercourse.  They 
regarded  each  other  not  as  friends,  engaged  in  a  generous 
rivalry,  but  as  almost  enemies,  in  conquering  whom,  it  was 
lawful  to  employ  any  species  and  means  of  warfare.  This 
unhappy  jealousy  often  led  to  mutual  recrimination,  and, 
sometimes,  even  resulted  in  open  ruptures  between  the  Socie- 
ties. It  is  amusing  to  read  the  series  of  terrific  resolutions 
forwarded  from  one  Society  to  the  other ;  which  at  the  time, 
smoked  with  wrath,  but  now  lie  before  us  like  spent  thunder- 
bolts !  Happy  as  has  been  the  influence  of  these  conventional 
Articles  upon  the  Societies,  it  must  be  confessed,  that  there 
has  not  been  always  calm  and  sunshine.  Difficulties  connected 
with  the  Contest,  and  other  subjects,  have  sometimes  thrown 
their  dark  shadows  over  our  sky.  One  of  these,  occurring 
in  1827,  remained  unsettled  until  1830,  when  the  Articles  of 
Agreement  were  annulled  by  our  sister  Society.  The  annual 
Contest  was  held  as  usual,  but,  owing  to  this  difficulty,  no 
decisions  were  made.  Other  Articles  were  afterwards  agreed 
upon,  and  these  again,  in  the  memory  of  some  now  present, 
became  in  turn,  "a  bone  of  contention."  But  kindness,  and 
the  spirit  of  mutual  concession,  finally  removed  every  difficulty, 
and  Friendship  has  bound  her  golden  chain  more  closely  and 
firmly  around  these  Brother  bands  ! 

We  now  come  to  a  period  in  our  history  when  old  things 
passed  away,  and  all  things  became  new  !  The  erection  of 
the  new  College,  and  the  dedication  of  the  present  hall,  was 
the  advent  of  our  Augustan  age.  We  have  seen  the  Society 
in  its  infancy  and  youth,  we  now  behold  it  entering  upon  its 
manhood.     The  name  and  features  remain  the  same,  but  how 


THE   FRANKLIN   LITERARY   SOCIETY.  171 

great  the  change  which  hath  passed  upon  its  spirit !  It  hath 
put  away  childish  things.  Its  step  is  firm  and  steady,  its 
voice,  the  voice  of  a  man,  and  its  deliberations,  though  warmed 
by  the  fervor  of  youth,  are  tempered  by  the  wisdom  of  riper 
years. 

Both  the  literary  Societies  of  this  Institution  delight  to 
refer  back  to  this  interesting  period.  Never  was  there  a 
brighter  era  in  our  common  history.  The  enthusiasm  of  the 
members  was  raised  to  the  highest  pitch.  To  furnish  and 
adorn  the  new  hall,  in  a  style  worthy  of  the  object  to  which 
it  was  devoted,  was  the  great  ambition  of  the  members.  Com- 
mittee after  committee  was  appointed,  and  resolutions  upon 
resolutions  were  passed,  with  reference  to  this  matter.  No 
expense  was  to  be  spared  in  its  decoration.  It  was  resolved 
that  the  floor  be  covered  with  the  best  imported  carpets  ;  that 
the  room  be  furnished  with  settees  and  sociables ;  that  the 
walls  be  painted  a  light  blue,  with  an  appropriate  border ; 
that  the  name  of  the  Society  be  inscribed,  in  gilt  letters,  above 
the  door ;  that  the  windows,  together  with  the  stage  and  ros- 
trum, be  hung  with  handsome  drapery ;  and  the  hall  and 
library  room  be  heated  by  suitable  stoves.  These,  with  a 
variety  of  minor  arrangements,  indicate  the  feelings  of  Society. 
The  expenses  of  these  numerous  outlays,  were  nobly  borne 
by  the  members,  who  vied  with  each  other  in  their  devotion 
to  the  Society.  It  has  been  beautifully  and  appropriately 
said  :  "  They  seemed  to  bend  every  thought  and  purpose  to 
adorn  the  Nuptial  Hall,  where  they  were  to  wed  Literature ; 
as  the  young  bride  will  visit  often  the  destined  chamber,  dis- 
posing and  arranging  its  furniture  ;  smoothing  the  pillow  till 
it  is  free  from  wrinkle  as  her  own  brow,  and  as  she  leaves, 
still  lingers  and  blushes  at  the  strange  flutterings  of  her  heart." 

The  spirit  of  activity,  which  was  called  into  life  at  this 
period,  did  not  confine  itself  to  the  decoration  of  the  new  hall. 
The  minutes,  and  other  papers  of  Society,  were  collected  and 
arranged ;  the  Legislature  was  applied  to  for  an  Act  of  Incor- 


172  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

poration,  (which  was  almost  obtained,)  and  the  whole  internal 
frame-work  of  the  Society  was  new-modeled.  The  struggle 
of  Greece  for  liberty  from  the  grievous  thraldom  of  the  Turk, 
at  that  time,  called  forth  an  enthusiastic  address  from  the 
Society,  and  resolutions  were  adopted  to  aid  the  revival  of 
Literature  on  its  classic  soil,  and  the  establishment  of  a  Col- 
lege at  Athens  ! 

On  the  22d  of  June,  1832,  the  new  hall  of  the  Society  was 
dedicated.  The  record  of  this  event  on  the  minutes,  is  as  fol- 
lows :  "  The  Literary  Societies  of  the  College  convened  on 
the  banks  of  the  Chartiers,  and,  accompanied  by  the  Faculty 
and  a  few  Honorary  members,  walked  in  procession,  to  excel- 
lent music,  through  the  streets  of  Canonsburg,  and  entered 
fheir  respective  halls."  The  Dedicatory  Address  before  the 
Franklin  Society  was  delivered  by  Washington  M'  Cartney, 
Esq.,  after  which  the  beautiful  hall  was  devoted  to  the  sacred 
purposes  of  Literature,  Friendship  and  Virtue,  with  appro- 
priate ceremonies. 

The  history  of  the  Society,  since  this  interesting  period, 
has  been  one  of  constant  and  increasing  prosperity.  Within 
a  twelve-month  after  the  dedication  of  the  new  hall,  the  roll 
of  regular  members  numbered  eighty.  With  each  succeeding 
year,  the  proportion  of  members  from  the  higher  classes  in 
College  increased  ;  and  thus  the  Society  grew  with  the  growth 
and  strength  of  our  Alma  Mater.  There  was  also  a  corres- 
ponding improvement  in  the  character  of  the  exercises.  The 
standard  of  literary  excellence  was  greatly  elevated,  and  a 
higher  tone  and  character  imparted  to  it,  by  the  scholarship 
and  talent  of  numerous  gifted  minds.  The  influence  of  the 
Society  on  the  literary  tastes  and  habits  of  its  members  became 
more  marked  and  decided.  It  dignified  and  made  honorable 
the  pursuits  of  knowledge,  and  all  who  sat  under  its  refresh- 
ing shade  felt  the  magic  of  its  power.  From  this  period,  too, 
the  Society  seems  to  have  directed  its  energies  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  Science  and  Literature,  as  its  proper  objects,  leaving 


THE   FRANKLIN   LITERARY   SOCIETY.  173 

to  other  institutions  the  correction  of  moral  delinquency  and 
the  reformation  of  moral  character.  And  finally,  since  the 
same  period,  the  spirit  of  partyism  and  narrow  clannish  feeling 
has  gradually  become  weaker  and  fainter  in  both  Societies. 
The  time  is  forever  past,  when  we  stood  like 

"  Heights — whose  mining  depths  so  intervened 
That  they  could  meet  no  more." 

The  recollection  of  that  day  is  fast  fading  from  memory,  and 
toe  would  not  renew  it.  Perish  the  hand  which  would  again 
throw  the  apple  of  discord  among  brethren  of  Friendship's 
firm-knit  family  ! 

Our  work  is  done.  The  history  of  the  Society  in  later 
days,  and  its  present  flourishing  condition,  are  as  familiar  to 
many  of  this  audience,  as  household  words.  We  have  only 
to  regret  the  incompleteness  of  our  information,  and  the  imper- 
fection of  our  own  labor.  If,  occasionally,  we  have  indulged 
in  digression,  so  has  Homer,  in  his  veracious  narrative  of  the 
adventures  of  Ulysses.  If  we  have  been  prosy,  so  at  times 
is  Herodotus,  the  Father  of  History,  whom  we  have  endeav- 
ored to  imitate,  in  being  the  faithful  chronicler  of  the  times. 

On  a  soiled  and  almost  illegible  page  of  the  old  Minutes, 
the  following  prophetic  passage  occurs.  It  bears  the  date  of 
January,  1798,  and  concludes  the  report  of  James  Camahan, 
one  of  the  first  Inspectors.  "  The  Franklin  Society  promises 
to  exceed  our  highest  expectations :  we  trust  it  will  be  an 
honor  to  the  members,  a  benefit  to  the  Academy,  and  will 
extend  its  happy  influence  throughout  America  !"  The  ven- 
erable President  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey  has  lived  to 
see  his  prophecy  fulfilled  ! 

Gro  where  we  may,  throughout  America,  we  meet  with  stu- 
dents of  Jefferson  College,  and  the  members  of  this  Society. 
The  graves  of  our  departed  brethren  cover  the  land ; 

"  Their  spirits  wrap  our  dusky  mountains, 
Their  memory  sparklos  o'er  our  fountains." 

15* 


174:  history  or  jefferson  college. 

Many,  also,  have  gone  to  the  Missions  beyond  the  seas.  Con- 
secrating themselves  to  the  work  of  the  Apostolate,  they  have 
fallen  with  their  armor  on,  in  the  holy  conflict  for  souls.  The 
Indian,  the  Ethiopian,  the  Scythian,  the  Persian,  the  China- 
man, have  heard  and  obeyed  their  word.  Christianity  and 
Civilization,  with  the  blessings  of  Science,  Virtue,  and  the 
holy  influences  of  Friendship,  have  followed  their  steps.  And 
in  those  lands  of  darkness,  an  unknown  force  of  moral  regen- 
eration has  appeared,  which  will  develop  and  perpetuate  itself 
in  all  coming  time,  and  live  indestructible  in  the  midst  of 
revolution  and  ruin.  But  they  have  died.  And  now,  after 
life's  fitful  fever,  they  sleep  well ! 

Our  living  brethren,  and  their  name  is  legion,  are  every 
where.  They  fill  all  offices,  and  are  found  in  every  depart- 
ment and  situation  of  life.  They  occupy  the  bench  of  the 
Judiciary ;  the  halls  of  the  Legislature ;  the  seats  of  Con- 
gress and  the  Senate  j  the  high  places  of  Government,  and 
the  higher  places  of  the  Church.  They  are  Instructors,  Pas- 
tors, Professors  and  Presidents  of  Institutions  of  Learning, 
in  three  Continents.  They  are  Ambassadors  at  Foreign  Courts, 
and  Members  of  the  Learned  Societies  of  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica. They  seem  to  be  possessed  of  the  power  of  ubiquity. 
Though  eight  years  have  elapsed  since  we  left  these  sacred 
walls,  we  have  never  taken  a  journey,  either  long  or  short, 
without  meeting  the  face  of  some  brother  Franklin  !  In  the 
stage  coach,  on  the  steam  boat,  in  the  rail  road  car,  on  ship 
board,  in  the  French  "diligence,"  in  the  German  "eilwagen," 
every  where,  and  under  every  variety  of  circumstances,  we 
have  met  and  recognized  the  members  of  this  Society.  How 
sweet  to  meet  in  later  life  the  companions  of  our  youth.  Ten- 
der recollections  are  awakened  by  looking  again  upon  well 
known  features.  But  few  recollections  are  more  sacred  than 
those  called  up  by  meeting  with  some  companion  of  College 
hours.  A  mysterious  brotherhood  unites  the  sons  of  the  same 
Institution.     And  should  that  companion  be  a  class-mate,  the 


THE   FRANKLIN   LITERARY   SOCIETY.  175 

connection  is  still  closer.  The  hours  spent  in  the  same  pur- 
suits, over  the  same  volume,  in  the  same  company,  and  at 
the  same  recitation,  are  dear  to  the  remembrance.  They  were 
once  thought  tiresome,  but  we  ever  recur  to  such  friendships, 
as  green  spots  in  the  journey  of  life.  But  should  this  com- 
panion and  that  classmate  be  a  Franklin,  the  mutual  satisfac- 
tion would  be  complete.     To  meet  with  such  a  one,  would  be — 

"  To  grasp  the  hand 
Of  brother  in  a  foreign  land  I" 

Distance  could  not  remove  such  remembrances,  nor  time  efface 
the  impression  which  such  a  meeting  would  renew.  The  frosts 
of  age  would  melt  from  round  the  heart,  and  the  affections 
flow  again,  in  the  long  forgotten  channels  of  early  years  !  * 

How  gladly  would  I  linger  among  the  labyrinths  of  memo- 
ry, and  impress  upon  your  minds  the  lessons  of  wisdom  which 
it  teaches  !  But  the  lateness  of  the  hour  forbids  any  length- 
ened remarks.  The  topics  which  have  been  suggested  by  the 
record  of  the  past,  are  too  numerous  to  refer  to,  and  too  inti- 
mately connected  with  our  internal  history  to  enlarge  upon. 
But  if  the  voice  of  the  past,  speaking  to  us  through  the  his- 
tory of  this  Society  and  College,  has  given  utterance  to  one 
fact  more  certain  and  prominent  than  all  others,  it  is,  that 
the  truth  of  God  is  the  appointed  instrumentality  for  the  regen- 
eration and  civilization  of  the  world.  That  truth,  which  God 
has  revealed  in  his  word,  and  written  in  living  characters  over 
the  broad  face  of  nature — two  volumes,  but  one  book — con- 
stitute the  stone  and  the  sling,  to  smite  with  death  the  gigan- 
tic forms  of  wrong,  under  which  the  whole  creation  groaneth 
and  travaileth  in  pain  until  now.  Simple  weapons,  yet  how 
effective  !  None  other  is  needed.  The  truth,  in  its  illustri- 
ous simplicity,  in  its  harmonious  proportions,  in  the  strength 
•of  its  native  energy,  in  the  sublime  consciousness  of  its  own 
rectitude,  is  omnipotent.     It  must  and  will  prevail ! 

*MS.  History  of  Franklin  Society. 


176  HISTORY  OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

To  the  study  and  advocacy  of  that  truth — which  is  mighty 
and  which  niaketh  free — consecrate  the  years  and  energies  of 
your  whole  life.  It  will  lead  you  to  its  great  Author,  and 
standing  in  His  presence,  you  will  look  forth  over  the  broad 
field  of  the  world,  with  the  holy  resolution,  to  live,  labor, 
suffer,  do  and  die  in  the  service  of  humanity,  and  to  stamp 
upon  society  the  impress  of  truth,  in  characters  which  shall 
remain  when  sun  and  moon  are  no  more  ! 

We  have  met  on  this  occasion  to  renew  the  recollections  of 
the  past,  and  to  exchange  the  signs  and  words  of  friendship — 
like  ships  on  the  ocean,  which  exchange  signals  and  then  pur- 
sue their  different  courses  upon  the  pathless  deep.  But  ere 
we  part,  and  "  mingle  with  the  universe,"  from  which  we 
have  escaped  to  participate  in  the  solemnities  of  this  night, 
let  us  again  unite  the  Student's  song,  and,  with  heart  and 
soul,  give  a  "vivat"  to  our  Alma  Mater  !     Then — 

Gaudeamus  igihir 
Juvenes  duin  sumus, 
Post  jucundam  juventutem, 
Post  molestam  senectutem, 
Nos  habebit  humus ! 

Vivat  Acadeinia, 

Vivant  Professores, 

Vivat  nienibrum  quodlibet, 

Vivant  membra  qutelibet, 

Semper  sint  in  Flore  ! 
Vivat  et  respublica, 
Et  qui  iliam  regit, 
Vivat  nostra  civitas, 
Maecenatum  caritas, 
Quae  nos  hie  proteget 


QUESTIONS  DEBATED  IN   CONTESTS. 


It  will  doubtless  afford  interest  and  amusement  to  see  a 
list  of  the  Questions  which  were  debated  at  the  Contests,  since 
they  began.     They  are  as  follows  : 

1799.  Whether  the  Mathematics  or  the  Languages,  Latin 
and  Greek,  be  more  necessary  ? 

1802.     Whether  is  luxury  or  war  most  ruinous  to  Nations? 

1801.  Should  a  Governor,  when  elected  into  office,  under 
our  present  form  of  government,  fill  all  the  offices  under 
his  jurisdiction  with  men  of  the  same  political  senti- 
ments with  himself? 

1805.  Are  the  natural  talents  of  men  superior  to  those  of 
women  ? 

1806.  Would  it  be  policy  in  the  United  States  immediately 
to  emancipate  their  slaves  ? 

1807.  Can  the  immortality  of  the  soul  be  discovered  by  the 
light  of  nature  ? 

1808.  Would  it  be  policy  for  the  Americans  to  join  in  alli- 
ance with  France,  should  a  war  take  place  between 
America  and  Great  Britain? 

1809.  Are  animals,  inferior  to  man  in  the  order  of  creation, 
possessed  of  immortal  souls? 

1810.  Is  the  soul  created  immediately  at  the  time  of  its  infu- 
sion into  the  body  ? 

1811.  Should  a  system  of  religion,  which  is  contrary  to  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  be  tolerated  by  civil  governments  ? 

(177) 


178  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

1812.  Should  capital  punishment  he  inflicted  in  a  well-regu- 
lated government  ? 

1813.  Should  conscience  be  the  ultimate  rule  of  duty  ? 

1814.  Is  the  Deity  discoverable  by  the  light  of  nature? 

1815.  Is  the  human  understanding  naturally  right  ?; 

1816.  Does  the  belief  of  moral  truth  necessarily  incite  to 
the  fulfilling  of  moral  obligations  ? 

1817.  Is  a  high  degree  of  refinement  favorable  to  the  Chris- 
tian religion  ? 

1818.  Is  war  naturally  lawful  ? 

1819.  Is  there  any  such  thing  in  human  nature  as  disin- 
terested benevolence? 

1820.  Suitable  provision  being  made  for  the  comfortable 
settlement  of  the  blacks  of  this  country  in  Africa,  and 
for  transporting  them  thither,  would  the  Government 
of  the  United  States,  at  any  time  of  peace  and  common 
prosperity,  be  justifiable  in  passing  a  law,  compelling 
them  to  colonize? 

1821.  Is  a  high  degree  of  sensibility  conducive  to  our  pre- 
sent happiness  ? 

1822.  Is  language  a  human  invention  ? 

1825.  Would  a  community  of  goods  contribute  to  the  hap- 
piness of  a  people  ? 

1829.  Should  Ecclesiastics  have  a  vote  in  National  Councils  ? 

1830.  Is  utility  the  rule  of  moral  action  ? 

1831.  Should  a  Republican  government  support  a  standing 
army  in  time  of  peace  ? 

1832.  Does  a  paucity  of  laws,  as  among  the  American  Sav- 
ages, subject  man  to  greater  evils  than  a  superabundance 
of  laws,  as  among  the  civilized  Europeans  ? 

1833.  Should  the  power  of  pardoning  those  who  commit 
offences  against  the  laws  (the  military  excepted)  exist 
in  a  republican  government  ? 

1834.  Should  capital  punishment  be  inflicted  by  civil  gov- 
ernments ? 


QUESTIONS   DEBATED   IN   CONTESTS.  179 

1836.  Should  the  Government  of  the  United  States  discour- 
age, by  powerful  restrictions,  immigrations  from  Europe 
— not  including  that  of  paupers  ? 

1839.  Should  provision  be  made  by  law  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  poor  ? 

1840.  Should  emulation  be  encouraged  as  a  stimulus  in 
education  ? 

1841.  Is  our  present  Constitution  more  likely  to  terminate 
by  the  encroachment  of  the  State  Governments  on  the 
powers  of  the  Federal  Government,  than  by  the  consol- 
idation of  the  powers  of  the  States  in  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment ? 

1846.     Is  the  human  mind  always  active  ? 

1855.  Should  our  judicial  officers  be  chosen  by  the  people 
directly  ? 

1856.  Is  there  in  the  human  mind  a  principle  of  disinter- 
ested benevolence  ? 

1857.  Should  emulation  be  encouraged  in  common  schools, 
as  a  stimulus  to  education  ? 


N.  B.  For  the  years  omitted,  tho  questions  could  not  be  obtained;  and  in 
soma  instances,  there  was  no  Contest. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 


OF    THE    LATE 


REV.   MATTHEW   BROWN,   D.  D. 

The  former  President  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  Colleges. 


BY  REV.    DAVID   ELLIOTT,   D.  D. 


The  words  "  the  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed,"  express  an 
aphorism  sanctioned  by  the  spirit  of  inspiration.  Accordingly, 
the  Jews,  whenever  they  named  an  eminently  just  man  who  was 
deceased,  were  in  the  habit  of  adding,  "  let  his  memory  be 
blessed."  This  practice  of  preserving  the  memory  of  good 
men,  seems  to  fall  within  the  scope  and  teachings  of  God's 
word  on  the  subject :  "The  righteous  shall  be  had  in  ever- 
lasting remembrance."  "  The  elders,  by  faith,  obtained  a 
good  report."  And  of  the  woman  who  poured  the  precious 
ointment  upon  the  head  of  the  Saviour,  he  himself  declared 
that  "  Wheresoever  this  gospel  shall  be  preached  in  the  whole 
world,  there  shall  also  this  that  this  woman  hath  done,  be  told 
for  a  memorial  of  her."  By  thus  recording  and  preserving 
the  memory  of  good  men — their  sayings  and  their  actions — 
they  are  made  to  live  over  again,  and  to  furnish  lessons  to 
surviving  generations.  "  He  being  dead  yet  speaketh,"  is  an 
affirmation  of  the  spirit  of  God,  respecting  Abel.  And  so  it 
may  be  said  of  any  other  good  man,  on  whom  the  grave  has 
closed,  and  whose  memory  has  been  preserved.  His  good 
deeds  live  in  history,  and  what  ho  said  and  did  while  living, 

(180) 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  DR.   BROWN.  181 

re  said  and  done  by  him,  in  the  records  of  his  life.  The 
demands  of  duty,  therefore,  as  well  as  the  promptings  of 
friendship,  require  that  there  be  some  recorded  memorial  of 
a  venerable  and  distinguished  man,  well  known  throughout 
the  Church,  who  has  lately  been  removed  to  the  eternal  world. 
The  Rev.  Matthew  Brown,  D.  D.,  has  closed  his  earthly 
labors,  and  gone  where  neither  the  applause  nor  the  censure 
of  mortals  can  reach  him.  He  was  a  man  of  strongly  marked 
character.  With  certain  inequalities  of  physical  tempera- 
ment, he  was  distinguished  by  many  high  attributes  of  a  reli- 
gious, intellectual,  and  social  kind.  Occupying  as  he  did, 
during  a  large  portion  of  his  life,  posts  of  public  observation 
and  influence,  which  brought  him  into  contact  with  various 
classes  of  men,  and  in  conflict  often  with  their  passions  and 
prejudices,  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  sometimes  incurred 
their  censure,  and  was  subjected  to  harsher  judgments,  than 
a  calm  and  dispassionate  review  of  his  whole  life  will  accord 
to  him.  And  we  doubt  not  but  that  when  his  defects  and 
eccentricities  shall  have  been  forgotten,  or  remembered  only 
to  be  excused,  the  high  moral  attributes  of  his  character  will 
remain  deeply  embalmed  in  many  a  Christian  heart. 

Dr.  Brown  was  descended  from  pious  and  respectable  ances- 
tors. His  paternal  grandfather,  John  Brown,  was  a  native 
of  Ireland,  but  of  Scottish  descent.  He  emigrated  to  this 
country  about  the  year  1720.  Not  long  after  his  arrival  in 
Pennsylvania,  he  died,  leaving  five  sons,  all  of  whom  were 
distinguished  for  their  religious  character.  His  son  Matthew, 
the  father  of  Dr.  Brown,  was  born  in  1732.  He  resided 
some  years  on  Conodoquinnet  creek,  in  the  vicinity  of  Car- 
lisle, Pennsylvania.  From  thence  he  removed  to  White  Deer 
Valley,  Northumberland  county,  of  which  place  he  was  one 
of  the  early  settlers.  He  was  a  ruling  elder  in  the  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church,  to  which  the  family  of  Brown  belonged. 
He  is  reported  to  have  been  a  man  of  talents,  and  of  great 
sprightliness  and  wit.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  early 
16 


182  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

stages  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle  for  independence,  and 
was  a  member  of  what  was  called  the  "  Flying  camp."  In 
this  service  he  contracted  a  fever,  of  which  he  died,  in  1778, 
at  the  age  of  forty-six.  He  left  eight  children,  of  whom 
Matthew,  the  subject  of  the  present  notice,  was  the  youngest. 
He  (Matthew)  was  born  in  the  year  1776,  two  years  before 
his  father's  death.  Upon  the  demise  of  his  father,  young 
Matthew  and  his  brother  Thomas  were  adopted  by  William 
Brown,  his  father's  brother,  who  had  no  children  of  his  own. 
This  William  Brown  resided  in  Dauphin  county,  near  to  Har- 
risburg,  and,  as  Commissioner  of  that  county,  assisted  in 
laying  out  the  town  which  is  now  the  seat  of  government  of 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  much  in  public  life,  and 
being  a  man  of  reading,  as  well  as  public  spirit,  he  was  fre- 
quently called  upon  to  serve  his  fellow  citizens  in  posts  of 
honor  and  trust.  He  was  repeatedly  in  the  Legislature  of 
Pennsylvania,  and,  as  a  member  of  that  body,  in  1776,  it  is 
said  that  he  was  the  first  who  proposed  the  gradual  emanci- 
pation of  the  slaves  within  the  Commonwealth ;  a  measure 
which,  though  not  favorably  received  at  the  time,  was  after- 
wards adopted.  He  was,  moreover,  a  member  of  the  Conven- 
tion which  formed  the  Constitution  of  the  State  in  1790. 
His  name  appears  among  the  signers  to  that  instrument.  He 
was  also  sent  at  one  time  as  a  Commissioner  to  Ireland  and 
Scotland,  on  behalf  of  the  Covenanters,  to  procure  for  them 
a  supply  of  ministers.  In  this  mission  he  was  successful, 
and  on  his  return  brought  with  him  Messrs.  Ldnd  and  Dob- 
bin, the  former  of  whom  was  settled  and  preached  for  some 
time  in  a  church  erected  on  Mr.  Brown's  farm.  We  have 
other  particulars  of  an  interesting  nature,  respecting  this  gen- 
tleman, but  which  are  reserved  for  the  present.  They  may 
appear  in  connection  with  a  more  extended  notice  of  Dr. 
Brown,  at  some  future  day. 

It  was  with  this  uncle  that  the  subject  of  this  notice  was 
placed  after  the  death  of  his  father.     There,  in  a  school  in 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP  DR.    BROWN.  183 

the  neighborhood,  he  received  his  elementary  education,  pre- 
paratory to  his  being  sent  to  college.  In  due  time  he  entered 
Dickinson  College,  at  Carlisle,  where  he  was  graduated  on 
the  5th  of  May,  1794,  during  the  Presidency  of  Dr.  Nisbet, 
for  whom  he  always  entertained  the  very  highest  regard. 
Among  his  classmates  were  the  Rev.  Drs.  Herron  and  Laird, 
of  Western  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Hon.  Alexander  Nisbet,  of 
Baltimore,  son  of  Dr.  Nisbet,  President  of  the  College.  After 
his  graduation,  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  a  classical  school 
in  Northumberland  county,  near  the  place  of  his  nativity, 
where  he  became  intimately  acquainted  with  the  celebrated 
Dr.  Priestley,  and  other  distinguished  men  in  that  region. 
This  was  probably  before  he  commenced  the  study  of  theology 
— when  he  made  a  public  profession  of  religion,  we  are  not 
at  present  able  to  state  ;  nor  are  we  informed  at  what  time  he 
commenced  his  theological  studies.  It  was  probably  about 
the  year  1796,  as  he  was  licensed  October  3d,  1799  ;  and  the 
Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  by  which  he  was  licensed,  are  known, 
for  a  long  period,  to  have  exacted  a  three  years  course  of 
study  of  their  candidates  before  licensure.  His  theological 
studies  were  pursued  in  part  with  Dr.  Nisbet,  and  in  part  with 
Dr.  King,  both  of  whom  were  learned  and  able  men,  and 
sound  theologians.  Two  years  after  he  was  licensed,  he 
accepted  a  call  from  the  united  congregations  of  Mifflin  and 
Lost  Creek,  within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  Hunting- 
don, and  on  the  6th  of  October,  1801,  he  took  his  dismission 
to  that  Presbytery,  and  was  by  them  ordained,  and  installed 
in  due  time  as  the  pastor  of  the  above  named  Churches.  Here 
he  labored  faithfully  for  several  years,  in  the  midst  of  a  good 
deal  of  reproach  and  opposition,  on  the  part  of  a  few  disaf- 
fected persons,  who  were  connected  as  pew-holders  with  the 
congregation  of  Mifflin.  Finding  his  situation  uncomfortable, 
and  having  a  call  from  the  congregation  of  Washington,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  an  invitation  from  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
Washington  Academy,  he  accepted  these  offers,  and  having 


184  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

obtained  a  dismission  from  his  pastoral  charge,  he  removed  to 
Washington  in  the  spring  of  1805.  There  he  labored  in  the 
double  capacity  of  pastor  and  principal  of  the  Academy,  hav- 
ing an  assistant  to  aid  him  in  the  business  of  giving  instruc- 
tion. During  the  spring  of  1806,  the  Academy  of  which  he 
was  the  principal  became  merged  in  Washington  College,  a 
charter  for  that  purpose  having  been  procured  from  the  Legis- 
lature of  Pennsylvania.  It  was  eminently  through  his  influ- 
ence, and  that  of  one  or  two  others,  that  this  charter  was 
obtained.  Of  the  new  College,  Dr.  Brown  was  elected  Presi- 
dent, on  the  13th  of  December,  1806,  retaining,  at  the  same 
time,  his  pastoral  connection  with  the  congregation.  This 
imposed  upon  him  duties  of  a  very  arduous  kind ;  and  to 
meet  the  responsibilities  of  his  situation,  he  was  obliged  to 
labor  with  unceasing  assiduity.  Nor  did  he  labor  in  vain. 
The  results  of  his  efforts  were  soon  rendered  visible,  in  the 
growing  prosperity  of  the  Church,  and  in  the  healthful  and 
extended  reputation  of  the  College.  It  is  true  that,  owing 
to  the  proximity  of  Jefferson  College,  which  was  only  seven 
miles  distant,  and  which  was  then,  as  now,  extensively  patron- 
ized, the  number  of  students  at  Washington  increased  rather 
slowly,  and  the  number  of  graduates,  during  his  administra- 
tion, was  not  very  large.  But  among  those  who  were  gradu- 
ated, during  the  ten  years  of  his  incumbency,  there  were 
many  who  have  since  risen  to  stations  of  eminence  in  the 
different  learned  professions,  and  a  few  who  have  acquired 
considerable  distinction  in  the  political  world.  During  the 
progress  of  events,  and  from  causes  which,  in  a  sketch  of 
this  kind,  need  not  be  investigated,  some  dissatisfaction  arose 
in  the  minds  of  some  who  were  intimately  connected  with 
the  College,  against  Dr.  Brown.  This  led  to  the  adoption  of 
measures  in  the  Board,  having  for  their  object  the  separation 
of  the  duties  of  the  College  from  those  of  the  congregation. 
After  various  conferences  on  the  subject,  and  some  conflict  of 
opinion  and  of  feeling,  Dr.  Brown,  on  the  16th  of  December, 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP  DR.    BROWN.  185 

1816,  tendered  to  the  Board  his  resignation  of  the  Presidency 
of  the  College,  preferring  to  retain  his  pastoral  charge  of  the 
Church,  to  which  he  was  bound  by  many  solemn  and  tender 
ties. 

The  reputation  which  Dr.  Brown  acquired,  as  the  President 
of  Washington  College,  attracted  attention  to  him  abroad, 
and  in  different  directions.  The  Trustees  of  Centre  College, 
at  Danville,  Kentucky,  tendered  to  him  the  Presidency  of 
that  Institution.  This  he  declined.  And  we  know  that  at 
one  time,  though  at  a  later  period,  his  name  was  prominently 
before  the  Board  of  Dickinson  College,  for  the  same  station. 
In  1822,  however,  he  was  elected  to  the  Presidency  of  Jeffer- 
son College,  at  Canonsburg,  which  he  accepted,  and  shortly 
afterwards  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office.  By  his  acces- 
sion, new  vigor  was  infused  into  that  Institution,  and  during 
the  whole  of  his  administration,  a  period  of  twenty-three 
years,  it  continued  to  enjoy  a  high  degree  of  prosperity.  As 
evidence  of  this,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  aggregate  number 
of  those  who  were  graduated  under  his  Presidency  was  seven 
hundred  and  seventy,  making  an  average  number  per  annum 
of  fully  thirty-three.  This  fact  truly  attests  the  skill  and 
vigor  with  which  the  College  was  conducted.  And  it  is 
worthy  of  special  observation,  that  of  this  large  number  of 
graduates,  not  less  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  became  min- 
isters of  the  Gospel,  the  greater  portion  of  them  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  It  is  due  also  to  truth  to  state  that  of  the 
ministers  now  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  (Old  School,)  there 
are  more  who  have  been  graduated  at  Jefferson  College  than 
at  any  other  single  College  in  the  United  States.  During 
Dr.  Brown's  incumbency,  also,  the  College  shared  frequently 
and  largely  in  the  renewing  influences  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
which  were  poured  out  upon  it  from  time  to  time.  This  is 
to  be  attributed  to  a  great  degree,  under  God,  to  his  faithful 
labors,  and  those  of  his  colleagues,  not  only  in  the  pulpit, 
but  in  visiting  the  students  in  their  rooms,  and  conversing 
16* 


186  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

and  praying  with  them  in  private.  Few  Presidents  of  a  Col- 
lege have  been  more  faithful  or  assiduous  in  this  department 
of  labor  than  he  was,  and  few  Colleges  have  been  more  largely 
blessed  in  the  visible  fruits  of  such  labor  than  that  of  Jeffer- 
son. For  several  years  after  Dr.  Brown  removed  to  Canons- 
burg,  he  preached  by  invitation  a  part  of  each  Sabbath  in 
conjunction  with  Dr.  M'Millan,  at  Chartiers,  of  which  Dr. 
M'Millan  was  the  pastor.  After  some  time,  a  separate  organi- 
zation was  effected  in  the  town  of  Canonsburg,  in  connection 
with  the  College,  and  Dr.  Brown  became  their  regular  pastor, 
and  continued  to  serve  them  in  that  capacity  until  he  resigned 
the  "Presidency  of  the  College,  when  the  pastoral  relation 
ceased.  For  a  number  of  years  before  his  retirement,  it  had 
become  evident  to  his  friends  that  his  physical  strength  was 
giving  way,  and  that  the  labors  of  the  College  and  of  the 
congregation  were  becoming  oppressive  to  him.  He  himself 
felt  it,  and  often  referred  to  it.  And  he  would  have  doubtless 
retired  much  sooner  than  he  did,  but  from  the  apprehension 
that  if  he  ceased  from  active  labor  he  would  be  in  danger  of 
sinking  into  a  state  of  imbecility.  At  length,  however,  he 
was  constrained  by  his  rapidly  increasing  infirmities,  to  seek 
repose  from  his  too  arduous  labors,  and  in  the  year  1845  he 
tendered  to  the  Board  his  resignation.  In  accepting  it  the 
Board  evinced  their  appreciation  of  his  long  and  faithful  ser- 
vices, by  conferring  on  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws,  (that  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  having  been  conferred  on 
him  by  Princeton  many  years  before,)  and  by  the  adoption  of 
resolutions  expressive  of  their  deep  feeling  of  regret  at  the 
necessity  which  led  to  a  dissolution  of  the  ties  which  had 
bound  them  so  long  and  so  happily  together.  The  people  of 
Washington  were  not  insensible  to  the  loss  they  had  sustained 
by  the  removal  of  Dr.  Brown  to  Canonsburg.  Occurrences, 
also,  connected  with  the  history  of  the  College  in  Washing- 
ton, subsequent  to  his  resignation  of  the  Presidency  of  that 
Institution,  had  convinced  the  Board  that  they  could  not  better 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP   DR.    BROWN,  187 

subserve  its  interests,  than  by  recalling  him.  Accordingly, 
some  six  or  seven  years  after  he  had  left  Washington,  he 
received  a  united  call  from  the  congregation  and  College  to 
return  to  his  former  position.  This  occasioned  him  great 
perplexity.  His  attachment  to  his  old  congregation,  among 
whom  he  had  labored  seventeen  years,  was  very  strong.  The 
College,  too,  which  had  sprung  into  existence  under  his  hand, 
and  whose  early  growth  had  been  the  object  of  his  watchful 
care,  made  a  strong  appeal  to  his  sympathy  and  regard.  But 
while  his  feelings  led  him  strongly  in  that  direction,  he  finally, 
after  full  deliberation,  and  consultation  with  friends,  deci- 
ded to  remain  at  Canonsburg,  much  to  the  gratification  of 
the  people  of  that  place,  and  the  friends  of  Jefferson  College. 
With  what  untiring  devotion  to  the  interests  of  that  Institu- 
tion he  continued  to  labor  for  her  prosperity  until,  through 
infirmity,  he  was  constrained  to  retire,  is  well  known  and 
amply  attested  by  the  facts  already  recited,  and  by  the  whole 
current  of  her  history.  From  the  time  that  Dr.  Brown  retired 
from  the  Presidency  of  the  College  and  the  pastorate  of  the 
Church  in  Canonsburg,  he  embraced  every  opportunity  of 
preaching  the  Gospel  to  his  dying  fellow-men.  In  this  work 
he  took  great  delight.  He  never  appeared  more  in  his  ele- 
ment than  when  proclaiming  the  riches  of  G-od's  grace  to  lost 
sinners ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  decline  of  his  bodily  pow- 
ers, it  was  surprising  to  observe  the  vigor  with  which  he  con- 
tinued to  preach  till  near  the  end  of  life.  It  is  due  to  the 
memory  of  Dr.  Brown  to  state  that,  for  a-  few  years  before 
his  death,  he  suffered  much  from  morbid  bodily  excitement. 
This  acted  unfavorably  on  his  mental  perception,  and  induced, 
in  many  cases,  an  eccentrio  and  anomalous  form  of  action, 
which  subjected  him  to  unfriendly  remarks  by  those  who 
were  unacquainted  with  the  cause.  Those  who  were  familiar 
with  his  true  condition,  knew  how  to  make  allowance  for  these 
peculiar  forms  of  opinion  and  of  action  by  which  some  portion 
of  the  latter  part  of  his  life  was  marked.     In  the  midst  of- 


188         HISTORY  OP  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE. 

all  his  infirmities,  however,  he  evinced  the  same  strong  and 
unwavering  attachment  to  evangelical  truth,  and  the  same 
deep  sensibility  in  relation  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom,  which  distinguished  his  more  favored  years  of  health, 
and  of  bodily  and  mental  vigor.  Some  weeks  before  his 
death,  alarming  symptoms  of  disease  made  their  appearance. 
Of  these  his  physicians  informed  him,  intimating  at  the  same 
time  that  he  might  die  very  suddenly.  In  communicating 
this  report  of  the  physicians  to  the  writer,  in  a  brief  note, 
he  added,  in  this  laconic  manner,  "  The  story  is  soon  told — 
may  go  off  in  a  few  days.  But  my  trust  is  in  God  :  He  will 
not  forsake  me  in  the  trying  hour."  He  was  not  taken  away, 
however,  for  some  time ;  but  he  continued  gradually  and 
slowly  to  decline  until  death  did  its  work.  On  the  Monday 
preceding  his  death,  his  disease  (gangrene  of  the  right  limb) 
so  changed  its  character  as  to  mitigate  and  almost  entirely 
remove  that  singular  irritability  of  his  physical  frame  which 
had  so  painfully  characterized  his  latter  years,  and  the  pre- 
vious stages  of  his  illness.  From  that  time  he  appeared  to 
be  a  different  man,  and  like  to  what  he  was  in  his  former  and 
better  days.  He  was  himself  again.  His  affections  once 
more  went  forth  with  full  flow  towards  his  children  and  rela- 
tives; from  whom,  through  the  disturbing  influence  of  his 
nervous  complaints,  they  appeared  at  times  to  be  almost  with- 
drawn. Having  summoned  his  son  and  daughter  to  his  bed- 
side, he  reminded  them  of  the  dying  scene  of  their  dear 
departed  mother — how  she  had  committed  them  to  the  faithful 
care  of  a  covenant-keeping  God,  and  expressed  her  confident 
hope  of  meeting  them  in  heaven.  He  desired  now,  he  said, 
to  do  the  same  thing.  He  exhorted  them  to  "  love  one 
another" — to  be  kind  to  each  other ;  and  then  referring 
to  hi8  absent  daughter,  he  added  :  "  And  oh  that  my  dear 
absent  child  were  here  also,  that  we  might  altogether  renew 
our  mutual  pledges  of  meeting  in  heaven."  Then  clasping 
his  son  in  his  arms,  he  said,  "  I  have  sometimes  dealt  roughly 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP   DE.    BROWN.  189 

with  you,  my  son,  but  let  all  be  forgotten  and  forgiven  now." 
With  much  calmness,  he  spoke  of  the  disposition  he  had  made 
of  his  property,  and  expressed  a  hope  and  belief  that  it 
would  be  entirely  satisfactory.  He  referred,  also,  with  great 
composure,  to  his  approaching  dissolution,  saying,  "  Death  to 
me  has  no  terrors :  I  have  long  looked  him  in  the  face." 
He  desired  his  friends  to  conduct  his  funeral  as  quietly  as 
possible — "  no  parade  •"  he  indicated  the  spot  where  he 
wished  to  be  buried — "in  the  graveyard  at  Washington, 
between  my  two  wives" — "  a  place  reserved  for  my  poor  body ; 
I  have  long  looked  at  it — a  pleasant  spot."  When  asked 
about  an  inscription,  his  reply  was,  "  Ah,  take  care  !  There 
I  am  afraid  of  you ;  pride  come  in — in  the  fewest  possible 
words — '  a  sinner  saved  by  grace.' "  Howard's  motto  was  sug- 
gested :  "  Christus  mea  spes."  "  Yes,"  he  replied,  "  that 
would  do ;  it  would  honor  learning,  to  which  my  life  has  been 
devoted — 'multiim  in  parvo' — what  you  please."  After 
drinking  some  water  which  was  given  him,  he  exclaimed, 
with  inexpressible  pathos  and  energy — "  Water  !  I  shall  soon 
be  drinking  of  the  pure  river  of  water  of  life."  His  heart 
seemed  to  be  full  of  love  and  kindness  to  all  around  him. 
When  he  received  any  refreshment,  or  when  his  bed  was 
smoothed,  or  his  pillow  adjusted,  he  frequently  said  in  a  most 
winning  and  affectionate  manner:  "That  will  do;"  "very 
well ;"  "  all  right."  These  were  the  genuine  expressions  of 
a  Christian  temper,  now  that  the  irritability  and  restlessness, 
superinduced  by  complicated  disease,  had  been  removed.  In 
conversation  with  a  ministerial  brother,  two  days  before  his 
death,  he  made  the  following  emphatic  observation  in  refer- 
ence to  himself  :  "  I  have  one  evidence ;  yes  !  one  thing,  the 
devil  himself  cannot  persuade  me  out  of  it :  I  have  been  a 
friend  of  revivals.  I  have  always  loved  to  see  sinners  con- 
verted. I  would  die  happy  if  ministers  and  Churches  were 
baptized  with  the  Holy  Spirit."  When  asked  by  his  son-in- 
law  if  he  thought  the  Presbyterian  Church  would  be  again 


190  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

united,  "  Yes,  certainly,"  he  replied,  "  God  can  do  it ;  he 
will  do  it.  I  shall  not  see  it ;  but  you  will."  He  fully  real- 
ized the  approach  of  death ;  and  to  his  son-in-law,  on  one 
occasion,  he  said  with  great  solemnity  :  "  And  this  is  death  ! 
death  !"  But  in  death  itself,  when  it  came,  there  was  no  appa- 
rent pain,  no  convulsive  action  or  groan ;  but  peacefully  as  a 
child,  he  fell  asleep  in  Jesus.  His  children,  though  watching 
round  his  pillow,  knew  not  the  precise  moment  of  his  depar- 
ture, and  could  scarcely  realize  that  it  was  death.  He  died 
on  the  29th  of  July,  1853,  at  the  house  of  his  son-in-law, 
Rev.  Dr.  Riddle,  in  Pittsburgh.  The  night  after  his  decease, 
his  body  was  conveyed  to  Canonsburg.  The  next  morning 
it  was  placed  in  Providence  Hall,  which  was  clad  in  mourn- 
ing ;  and  where  a  funeral  discourse  was  pronounced  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Swift,  of  Allegheny.  This  service  was  touching  , 
and  solemn.  The  population  of  the  village  were  largely 
present.  The  shops  were  closed.  Many  a  face  was  wet  with 
tears.  The  citizens  seemed  to  feel  that  Canonsburg  and  Jef- 
ferson College  had  lost  their  best  friend,  and  the  poor  their 
benefactor.  At  the  close  of  the  religious  services,  the  funeral 
cortege  passed  through  the  ranks  of  students,  as  it  proceeded 
on  its  way  to  Washington.  There  it  was  met  by  a  procession 
of  the  faculty,  trustees,  and  students  of  Washington  College, 
and  many  citizens.  The  members  of  the  old  session  of  the 
Washington  church  requested  the  privilege  of  bearing  the 
corpse  of  their  former  pastor  and  friend  to  the  grave,  which 
was  cheerfully  granted.  In  this  particular,  his  closing  scene 
was  like  that  of  Stephen — "  Devout  men  carried  him  to  his 
burial,  and  made  great  lamentation  over  him."  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Brownson,  the  present  pastor  of  the  Washington  church, 
offered  prayer  at  the  grave ;  and  the  crowd  slowly  retired, 
leaving  his  cold  remains  in  the  tomb,  there  to  sleep  until  the 
morning  of  the  resurrection.  Dr.  Brown  was  twice  married. 
By  his  first  wife  he  had  two  children,  one  of  whom,  the  Rev. 
Alexander  B.  Brown,  D.  D.,  is  now  the  President  of  Jeffer 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  DR.    BROWN.  191 

son  College,  and  the  other,  Elizabeth,  is  the  wife  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Riddle,  of  Pittsburgh.  By  his  second  wife  he  had  one 
daughter,  Susan  Mary,  now  the  wife  of  Henry  Alexander, 
Esq.,  of  New  York. 

In  the  foregoing  brief  narrative,  the  reader  will  doubtless 
have  obtained  some  glimpses  of  the  character  of  Dr.  Brown. 
It  was  intended  by  the  writer  to  have  attempted  a  more  formal 
delineation  of  his  character,  in  its  various  forms  of  develop- 
ment. But  further  reflection  has  induced  him  to  defer  it,  for 
the  present,  from  a  conviction  that,  when  the  records  of  his 
personal  and  public  history  shall  have  been  more  fully  written, 
such  a  delineation  being  sustained  by  incontrovertible  facts, 
will  be  received  with  more  favor,  and  will  better  vindicate 
his  claims  to  a  place  in  the  affectionate  remembrance  of  the 
friends  of  learning  and  of  religion. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

OF     TEE 

KEY.    SAMUEL    RALSTON,    D.   D. 

President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Jefferson  College. 


The  Rev.  Samuel  Ralston,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  the  county 
of  Donegal,  Ireland,  A.  D.  1756.  His  family  were  of  the 
most  substantial  and  respectable  yeomanry  of  that  part  of 
Ireland.  Some  of  them  were  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  others  in  trade  and  merchandise.  Judging  from  the  let- 
ters he  received  from  various  relations,  after  his  arrival  in  this 
country,  we  infer  that  there  could  have  been  few  more  thrifty 
or  influential  people  in  the  northern  part  of  the  province  of 
Ulster,  than  the  Ralstons.  Probably  of  Scottish  descent 
originally,  they  were  all  thorough  Presbyterians.  His  reli- 
gious education,  and  his  early  training  in  catechetical  instruc- 
tion, were  carefully  attended  to.  It  is  probable  that  the 
rudiments  of  a  classical  education  were  afforded  him,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  his  birth ;  and,  like  the  Irish  Presbyterian 
schools  of  that  day  generally,  his  must  have  been  thorough 
in  its  pedagogical  drilling,  if  we  may  judge  from  his  accurate 
and  extensive  classical  attainments,  for  which  he  was  after- 
wards distinguished.  As  some  of  his  father's  family  were 
business  men,  engaged  in  trade  and  commerce,  he  was  proba- 
bly, at  an  early  period,  employed  occasionally  in  their  service. 
His  careful,  methodical  habits,  in  reference  to  his  financial 
concerns,  through  afterlife,  seem  to  have  been  formed  in  this 

(192) 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OP  DR.  RALSTON.      193 

way.  There  is  evidence  from  his  papers  that  he  would  have 
become  a  thorough  business  man,  had  Divine  Providence  given 
this  direction  to  his  life.  But  his  mind,  which,  from  his 
boyhood,  seems  to  have  been  thoughtful  and  serious,  received, 
through  divine  grace,  a  decidedly  religious  tone ;  and  his 
thoughts  were  early  turned  to  the  Gospel  ministry.  In  order 
to  become  qualified  for  this  important  work,  so  far  as  human 
instrumentality  was  concerned,  he  was  sent  to  the  University 
of  Glasgow,  in  Scotland.  After  completing  an  extensive 
collegiate  course,  he  entered  upon  his  more  immediate  prepa- 
ration for  preaching  the  Gospel,  and  was  in  due  time  licensed 
by  his  Presbytery.  He  at  once  attained  to  a  very  respecta- 
ble standing  among  his  countrymen,  as  an  able  and  instruc- 
tive preacher.  He  was  engaged  for  several  years  at  Donaugh- 
more,  and  adjoining  places,  either  as  a  regular  stated  supply 
or  assistant  preacher.  But  his  mind  having  early  received 
a  strong  bias  towards  the  new  Western  World,  he  seems  to 
have  declined  all  thoughts  of  settling,  as  a  pastor,  in  his  native 
land.  Dark  political  clouds,  portentous  of  future  troubles 
and  disasters,  were  then  beginning  to  gather  over  L*eland. 
The  American  Revolution,  which  had  been  brought  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue  a  few  years  before,  was  soon  followed  by  the 
terrible  Revolution  in  France.  Many  in  Ireland,  both  of 
Protestants  and  Catholics,  fondly  conceived  that  the  day  of 
their  country's  release  from  British  thralldom  was  at  hand. 
Many  young  and  ardent  minds  among  the  Presbyterian  min- 
istry, caught  the  patriotic  infection,  and  were  full  of  zeal  for 
their  country's  freedom.  Though  young  Ralston  was  a  warm 
patriot,  and  earnestly  longed  to  see  his  country  free,  he  was 
too  wise  to  commit  himself  to  rash  measures.  But  he  began 
to  foresee  that  the  country  would  soon  be  convulsed  by  the 
coming  struggle.  He  had  consecrated  himself  to  the  Gospel 
of  Peace.  He  saw  little  prospect  of  pursuing  his  Master's 
work  much  longer  in  Ireland,  without  compromising  his  con- 
science or  his  safety.  He  determined  to  withdraw,  and  to 
17 


194  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

seek  a  field  of  labor  in  the  New  World,  across  the  Atlantic. 
Accordingly,  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States  early  in  1794. 
Soon  afterwards,  he  put  himself  under  the  care  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  New  Castle ;  and  under  the  direction  of  that  fruit- 
ful mother  of  our  early  Western  ministers,  he  labored  for 
about  eighteen  months,  in  portions  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware  and  Maryland.  This  period  of  his  life,  no  doubt, 
was  spent  with  much  advantage  to  himself,  as  well  as  benefit 
to  others.  It  was  the  very  kind  of  life  adapted  to  acclimate 
him,  both  physically,  intellectually,  and  morally.  And  no 
better  region  could  have  been  selected,  perhaps,  in  order  to 
trim  up  a  young  Scotch-Irishman,  prune  off  his  excrescences, 
and  refine,  or  at  least  Americanize  his  manners.  And  Mr. 
Ralston  would  not  be  wanting,  on  his  part,  to  avail  himself 
of  the  advantages  afforded  him.  He  had  been  early  accus- 
tomed, in  his  own  family  circle,  to  a  manly  and  refined  tone 
of  society.  His  vigorous  mind,  and  his  quick  penetration  of 
men  and  of  society  in  all  their  various  phases,  would  facili- 
tate his  progress  in  this  new  school  of  life.  His  intelligence, 
wit  and  conversational  powers,  would  give  him  a  welcome 
passport  to  every  social  circle.  And  his  dignity  and  com- 
manding personal  presence  would  always  command  respect. 
He  has  left  no  journal  of  this  period  of  his  life.  We  remem- 
ber but  one  incident  which  he  related,  connected  with  it. 
He  was  itinerating  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland.  On 
a  warm  summer  day,  a  congregation  were  seated  in  an  unfin- 
ished log  meeting-house,  the  floor  not  entirely  laid — some  of 
them  sitting  on  the  sleepers,  and  their  feet  on  the  ground, 
listening  to  the  young  Irish  missionary.  All  at  once,  a  row 
of  ladies,  sitting  next  the  wall,  rose,  in  apparent  agitation, 
and  pressed  forward  from  their  places,  some  of  them  casting 
their  glances  up  the  wall  just  above  their  seat.  There  was 
quite  a  sensation  through  the  whole  house,  though  not  a  sylla- 
ble was  uttered.  It  was  all  a  mystery  to  young  Ralston.  He 
paused  for  a  moment,  but  he  was  soon  relieved.     A  gentle- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OF   DR.    RALSTON.  195 

man,  armed  with  a  large  horsewhip,  advanced  to  the  wall,  and 
struck  up  against  it  with  his  whip  several  times,  most  vigor- 
ously. Ralston  yet  saw  nothing.  At  length,  by  a  successful 
stroke,  a  large  snake,  more  than  a  yard  long,  was  dislodged, 
and  came  tumbling  down,  and  was  instantly  killed  and  carried 
out  of  the  house.  It  was  the  first  snake  he  had  ever  seen  in 
his  life.  For  every  body  knows  there  are  no  snakes  in  Ire- 
land— St.  Patrick,  according  to  a  popish  legend,  having, 
many  centuries  ago,  driven  both  snakes  and  toads  out  of  the 
island  into  the  sea.*  Mr.  Ralston  and  his  congregation  soon 
recovered  their  composure,  and  there  was  no  further  interrup- 
tion to  the  services  of  the  day. 

In  the  fall  of  1795,  Mr.  Ralston  crossed  the  mountains 
into  Western  Pennsylvania,  and  spent  some  time,  perhaps 
two  months,  preaching  in  several  vacant  congregations,  in  the 
Presbyteries  of  Redstone  and  Ohio.  He  then  returned  and 
spent  the  winter  in  the  bounds  of  New  Castle  Presbytery. 
Thither  calls  were  sent  to  him,  through  that  Presbytery,  from 
Bethel  and  Ebenezer,  now  in  the  bounds  of  Blairsville  Pres- 
bytery, and  also  from  Mingo  and  Horse-shoe  Bottom,  in  the 
Presbytery  of  Ohio.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1796  he  returned 
to  the  West,  and  attended  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Redstone,  at  Laurel  Hill,  April  19th,  of  that  year.  He  was 
received  as  a  licentiate,  upon  his  certificate  of  dismission  from 
the  Presbytery  of  New  Castle.  The  call  which  he  had 
received  from  Bethel  and  Ebenezer,  he  informed  the  Presby- 
tery he  was  not  yet  prepared  to  accept.  He,  moreover, 
requested  and  obtained  leave  to  spend  some  part  of  the  sum- 
mer in  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio.  There  were 
several  supplies  assigned  him,  however,  through  the  wide- 
spread territory  of  the  old  Presbytery  of  Redstone.     He  was 


*  The  writer  has  seen  a  fine  engraving  in  tho  house  of  a  Catholic  friend, 
representing  snakes  and  toads  in  great  numbers,  retreating  and  plung- 
ing in  terror  into  the  sea,  before  the  advancing  Saint,  armed  with  his  crozier. 


196  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

sent  to  Glade  Run,  Bethel,  and  Ebenezer  on  Blacklick,  Ebene- 
zer  on  Puckety,  Tyrone,  Morgantown,  Clarksburg,  and  Crab- 
Orchard.  Whether  he  traveled  over  this  whole  field,  indica- 
ted by  these  places,  we  know  not.  It  appears  that  he  visited? 
at  least,  some  of  those  in  Virginia.  For  it  is  a  tradition  yet 
remembered,  that  once,  when  near  Morgantown,  he  was  at  a 
house-raising,  lending  his  powerful  frame  in  that  laborious 
operation.  He  was  up  on  the  top  of  the  building,  which  had 
reached  a  considerable  height,  when  a  man,  newly  arrived 
amongst  the  throng  below,  was  indulging  in  excessive  cursing 
and  swearing.  Ralston,  though  aloft,  heard  and  rebuked  him. 
The  man  became  enraged,  threatened  vengeance,  and  dared 
him  to  come  down.  Mr.  Ralston  hastened  down  and  advanced. 
But  when  the  profane  fellow  saw  what  a  herculean,  six-foot, 
brawny  Irishman  he  had  challenged,  his  wrath  forsook  him 
in  a  moment — he  became  as  humble  as  a  lamb,  begged  pardon 
of  his  reverence,  and  sounded  a  masterly  retreat.  An  up- 
roarious laugh  burst  from  the  whole  company,  and  re-echoed 
"  over  the  hills  and  far  away." 

In  the  course  of  the  week  next  ensuing  after  the  meeting 
of  the  Redstone  Presbytery,  above  mentioned,  he  had  repaired, 
before  entering  on  the  above  appointments,  to  a  meeting  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  April  26,  1796 ;  and  obtained  from 
that  Presbytery  leave  to  visit  some  of  their  vacancies,  espe- 
cially Mingo  Creek  and  Horse-shoe  Bottom.  Whether  he 
visited  these  places  before  or  after  the  appointments  given  him 
by  the  Redstone  Presbytery,  we  are  not  informed.  We  only 
know  that,  by  the  fall  meeting  of  that  Presbytery,  he  informed 
them  that  he  had  concluded  to  decline  the  call  to  Ebenezer 
and  Bethel,  and  to  accept  that  of  Mingo  and  Horse-shoe  Bot- 
tom ;  and  as  the  so  .vac  in  the  bounds  of  Ohio  Presbytery, 
he  was  dismissed  to  that  Presbytery,  and  was  duly  received, 
October  26,  1796.  Measures  were  immediately  adopted  with 
reference  to  his  ordination  and  installation  at  Mingo.  An 
adjourned  meeting  was  held  at  that  place.     The  Presbytery 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OP   DR.    RALSTON.  197 

was  opened  with  a  sermon  from  Mr.  Ralston,  on  a  subject 
previously  assigned,  as  a  part  of  trials.  On  the  following 
day,  November  30,  1796,  he  was  ordained  and  installed,  Mr. 
Patterson  preaching  the  ordination  sermon,  on  1  Thess. 
5:  12,  and  Mr.  M'Millan  presiding  and  giving  the  charge. 
As  we  have  no  record  of  any  subsequent  installation  at  Horse- 
shoe Bottom,  it  is  probable  that  this  service  at  Mingo  was 
intended  and  appointed  for  both  congregations ;  the  people  of 
the  other  congregation  being  present  in  part,  either  by  com- 
missioners or  representatives,  or  by  the  session,  or  part  of  the 
congregation.  Horse-shoe  Bottom  was  situated  some  miles 
up  the  Monongahela  river,  and  included  a  "  settlement," 
extending  for  some  distance  up  and  down  the  river,  and  wide 
out  from  it,  having  taken  the  name  from  the  figure  made  by 
the  curve  of  the  river  around  the  "  settlement."  These 
places,  constituting  the  joint  pastoral  charge  of  Mr.  Ralston, 
extending  along  the  west  side  of  the  Monongahela,  and  ten 
or  twelve  miles  off  from  it,  all  within  the  limits  of  Washing- 
ton county,  formed  the  wide  and  laborious  field  of  Mr.  Rals- 
ton's  labors,  through  a  large  portion  of  his  protracted  life. 
He  entered  at  once  with  vigor  and  unsparing  diligence  on  his 
work.  The  pastoral  fields  of  all  our  first  ministers  were  very 
extensive,  and  quite  indefinite  in  some  directions.  Mr.  Rals- 
fcon's  was  one  of  the  largest,  and  one  of  the  roughest,  at  least 
as  to  its  physical,  if  not  its  moral  features.  Let  any  one 
now,  with  all  the  advantages  of  modern  improvements  in 
roads  and  modes  of  conveyance,  start  at  the  western  boundary 
of  Mingo,  traverse  the  hills  and  hollows,  constantly  occurring, 
as  he  crosses  successively  the  Mingo  and  Pigeon  creeks,  and 
Pike  run,  and  Maple  creek,  and  persevere  till  he  reaches  the 
eastern  limits  of  Horse-shoe  Bottom  congregation ;  and  he 
will  wonder  that  any  one  man  could  ever  undertake  such  a 
wide-stretching  scene  of  pastoral  and  ministerial  labors.  But 
Dr.  Ralston  not  only  undertook  it,  but  held  on  to  this  entire 
field  for  thirty-five  years.  It  is  true  that  for  some  years, 
17* 


198  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

towards  the  close  of  that  period,  the  Presbyterian  population 
of  the  Horse-shoe  Bottom  "settlement,"  having  become 
greatly  reduced  by  emigration  to  the  West,  were  brought  into 
connection  with  the  members  in  and  around  Williamsport ; 
and  that  place  became  the  principal  field  of  that  part  of  Dr. 
Ralston' s  labors  which  had  formerly  been  devoted  to  the  "  set- 
tlement" farther  up  the  river.  We  need  hardly  state  that 
Williamsport  has,  for  some  years  past,  taken  the  more  ambi- 
tious name  of  Monongahela  City. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  soon  afterwards  sought  and 
obtained  the  hand  of  Miss  Ferguson,  of  Pigeon  Creek,  who 
proved  a  valuable  help-mate  to  her  husband,  sustaining  and 
cheering  him  amidst  his  toilsome  and  exhausting  labors. 

Mr.  Ralston  had  not  yet  become  an  American  citizen,  in 
due  legal  form.  But  next  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  he  loved 
his  adopted  country.  He  was  a  thorough  Republican  in  sen- 
timent, and  took  a  deep  interest,  all  his  life,  in  the  cause  of 
human  liberty.  In  due  time,  he  sought  and  obtained  his  legal 
rights  of  American  citizenship,  according  to  the  form  then 
required.  The  official  document  lies  before  us,  and  will,  per- 
haps, by  some,  be  read  with  interest.  It  is  rather  a  curiosity 
to  those  who  have  not  seen  such  a  paper.     It  is  as  follows : 

"  I,  Edward  Burd,  Prothonotary  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  United  States  of  America,  hereby 
certify,  that  at  a  court  of  Nisi  Prius,  held  at  Washington,  for 
the  county  of  Washington,  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  May,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine,  before  the  Honorable  Jasper  Yates  and  Thomas  Smith, 
Esqs.,  two  of  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  said 
State,  Samuel  Ralston,  a  native  of  Ireland,  but  now  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  exhibited  a  petition,  praying 
to  be  admitted  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  said  United  States ; 
and  ,on  his  solemn  oath  on  the  Holy  Evangels,  did  declare,  in 
the  said  court,  that  he  had  resided,  two  years  at  least,  within 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  DR.  RALSTON.     199 

and  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  and  one  year, 
at  least,  within  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  :  that  he  was  a 
resident  within  the  limits,  and  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States,  on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  January,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety -five ; 
that  he  had  never  borne  any  hereditary  title,  or  been  of  any 
of  the  orders  of  nobility,  in  any  country  whatever,  and  did 
absolutely  and  entirely  renounce  and  abjure  all  allegiance  and 
fidelity  to  any  foreign  Prince,  Potentate,  State  or  Sovereignty 
whatever;  and  particular  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  of 
whom  he  was  heretofore  a  subject :  and  that  he  would  sup- 
port the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  And  the  facts  as 
aforesaid  appearing  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  said  Court,  in 
full  proof ;  and,  moreover,  that  during  the  said  term  of  two 
years,  the  said  Samuel  Ralston  had  behaved  himself  as  a 
man  of  good  moral  character,  attached  to  the  Constitution  of 
the  said  United  States,  and  well  disposed  to  the  good  and 
happiness  of  the  same.  The  said  court,  thereupon,  admitted 
the  said  Samuel  Ralston  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  said 
United  States,  and  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  aforesaid, 
and  ordered  all  the  said  proceedings  to  be  recorded  by  the 
Clerk  of  the  said  court,  which  record  was  made  accordingly. 
"  In  witness,  I,  the  said  Edward  Burd, 

have  hereunto   set  my  hand   and  affixed 

^ ->w         the   seal  of   the   said  Supreme  Court,  at 

(^SEAL^       Philadelphia,    this    twenty-third   day   of 

September,    in    the     year   of    our    Lord 

MDCCXCIX. 

"  Edw.  BURD,  Prothon'y." 

Dr.  Ralston  resided  within  a  few  miles  of  Mingo  church, 
shortening,  somewhat,  the  distance  to  his  further  place  of 
preaching.  After  his  settlement  and  marriage,  his  laborious 
but  peaceful  life  wore  pleasantly  away,  amidst  much  domestic 
happiness,  and  much  to  cheer  him  in  his  labors  as  a  minister  of 


200  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

Christ.  In  process  of  time  he  had  a  lovely  circle  of  children 
around  him.  He  had,  in  all,  three  sons  and  six  daughters.  But 
two  of  these  daughters,  and  two  of  his  sons,  he  lived  to  see 
passing  to  the  grave  before  him.  One  of  the  sons  had  just 
completed  his  preparatory  studies  for  the  ministry,  with  bright 
promise  of  distinguished  usefulness,  when  he  was  removed 
by  death.  All  these  children  gladdened  their  venerable 
father,  by  a  seasonable  and  hopeful  connection  with  the  visi- 
ble Church.  In  his  long  loneliness,  after  the  death  of  his  wife, 
whom  he  survived  twenty-four  years,  his  children,  and  espe- 
cially one  daughter,  who  remained  unmarried,  cherished  his 
life  -and  health  with  more  than  ordinary  filial  faithfulness 
and  tender  care. 

His  pastoral  charges  shared  largely  in  those  remarkable 
effusions  of  Divine  influence  which  were  witnessed  and  felt 
so  extensively  in  our  Western  Zion,  during  the  years  1802-3, 
and  '4.  The  writer  reniembers,  when  quite  a  small  boy,  to 
have  accompanied  his  parents  (then  residing  in  Rehoboth, 
Westmoreland  county,)  over  to  Horseshoe  Bottom.  It  was 
in  May  or  June,  1802.  There  was  a  great  assembly  of  peo- 
ple, for  those  times  ;  and  great  religious  excitement.  Public 
meetings  extended  through  much  of  several  successive  days. 
And,  at  night,  many  again  collected  at  the  meeting-house, 
and  the  services  were  continued  to  a  late  hour.  It  was  a 
very  solemn  time.  The  writer's  father  was  assisting  Dr. 
Ralston ;  and  he  faintly  remembers  how  they  both  preached, 
and  prayed,  and  exhorted.  This  was  nearly,  if  not  quite,  the 
beginning  of  the  revival  in  Dr.  Ealston's  charge.  It  was 
believed  that  many  were  awakened  and  converted,  at  that 
sacramental  meeting.  There  were  similar  meetings  at  Mingo, 
for  several  years,  beginning  about  that  time.  Such  a  season, 
it  is  supposed,  Dr.  Ralston  never  witnessed  before.  But  he 
was  read .  t )  welcome  it,  and  to  co-operate  with  his  brethren, 
with  aa  !:j.n  might,  in  their  now  increased  and  abounding 
labors,  during  this  spiritual  harvest.     Though  Dr.  Ralston 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH    OP   DR.    RALSTON.  201 

had  not  the  advantage  of  a  smooth  mellifluous  voice,  or  of 
much  natural  pathos,  he  made  all  the  amends  in  his  power 
for  these  defects  by  his  earnestness  and  plainness,  and  strong 
and  faithful  appeals  to  the  reason  and  consciences  of  men. 
Though  he  could  not  be  said  to  be  a  popular  preacher,  the 
people  of  Grod,  and  indeed  all  people  of  good  sense,  were 
always  pleased  to  see  his  presence  at  the  great  revival  meet- 
ings, and  to  hear  his  voice,  amidst  those  scenes,  when  multi- 
tudes were  inquiring  for  the  way  of  salvation,  overwhelmed 
with  sharp  conviction  and  deep  distress,  or  melted  into  pen- 
itence and  contrition  at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  In  those  days, 
there  was  little  of  that  critical  and  fastidious  taste  that  now 
prevails.  People  seemed  to  hunger  for  the  bread  of  life ; 
and  they  did  not  turn  away  from  it  with  indifference  and  con- 
tempt, if  the  voice  that  directed  them  to  it  did  not  always 
fall  on  their  ears  soft  as  the  gentle  murmurs  of  Siloah's 
brook  :  or  if  the  poor  earthen  vessel,  that  bore  to  them  the 
provisions  of  God's  house,  did  not  always  remind  them  of 
"  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver."  Dr.  Ralston  was 
called  to  take  his  full  share  in  assisting  his  brethren,  espe- 
cially Dr.  M'Millan,  on  sacramental  occasions.  For  many 
years,  these  were  memorable  seasons  in  the  history  of  Western 
Presbyterianism.  But  as  we  have  spoken  of  them  somewhat 
at  large  in  our  former  work,  "  Old  Redstone,"  we  will  not 
here  attempt  further  remarks.  The  great  revival,  to  which 
we  have  referred,  has  been  so  well  described  by  Dr.  Elliott, 
in  his  "  Life  of  Macurdy,"  that  we  will  not  attempt  another 
account.  We  are  sure  that  it  would  be  no  improvement  upon 
his  interesting  narrative,  though  indeed  many  things  might 
be  told  which  he  has  omitted;  and  the  materials  are  not 
wanting,  or  difficult  of  access,  for  this  purpose.  But  we  think 
it  much  better,  on  the  whole,  to  refer  our  readers  to  the  "  Life 
of  Macurdy."  It  is  true,  nothing  may  be  found  there  about 
the  great  work  in  Mingo  or  Horse-shoe  Bottom.  But  the 
reader  has  only  to  transfer,  at  least  to  some  extent,  what  he 


202         HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE. 

will  there  find  related  of  the  several  scenes  in  the  pastoral 
charges  of  Messrs.  Anderson  and  Marquis,  and  Macurdy  and 
Patterson,  and  M'Millan.  But  Dr.  Ralston  was  called  to 
render  a  peculiar  service  to  the  cause  of  religious  revivals, 
in  those  times.  That  remarkable  work  had  not  long  pro- 
gressed, before  it  excited  dissatisfaction  and  opposition  among 
some  other  denominations,  and  especially  the  &ecedcrs.  Many 
of  their  preachers,  as  early  as  1802,  began  to  warn  their  peo- 
ple against  the  work.  They  denounced  it  as  fanatical,  and 
of  Satanic  origin.  Many  of  their  people,  however,  could  not 
be  kept  away  from  those  solemn  scenes.  In  some  instances, 
they  became  subjects  of  the  revival.  In  other  cases,  they 
knew  not  what  to  say ;  their  mouths  were  stopped  The  min- 
isters of  that  body  became  more  and  more  alarmed.  At 
length,  in  1804,  they  prepared  and  published  a  sort  of  pasto- 
ral Letter  and  Testimony,  and  sent  it  out,  far  and  wide,  over 
their  Churches,  and  among  their  people ;  and  even  sought 
every  opportunity  to  obtrude  this  publication  into  our  houses 
and  families.  This  was,  however,  perhaps,  the  course  pursued 
only  by  some  of  the  weaker,  yet  well-meaning  brethren  of 
that  body.  The  sophistry  and  misrepresentations  of  the 
pamphlet  were  easily  answered  by  our  ministers,  from  the 
pulpit,  and  on  other  occasions.  But  something  more  formal 
and  better  suited  for  parrying  the  attack,  and  for  silencing 
the  enemy,  seemed  necessary,  and  loudly  called  for.  Dr. 
Ralston  undertook  it.  In  1805  there  issued  from  the  press, 
in  the  town  of  Washington,  a  pamphlet  of  sixty-one  pages, 
with  the  anonymous  signature  of  "A  Presbyterian."  But 
it  was  well  known  to  be  the  production  of  Dr.  Ralston ;  and 
was  popularly  called  "The  Currycomb."  How  that  name  was 
given  to  it,  we  have  never  heard.  The  title-page  is  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Letters  addressed  to  the  Rev.  Messrs.  John  Cree, 
John  Anderson,  William  Wilson,  and  Thomas  Allison,  mem- 
bers of  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania,  in  answer  to 
their  pamphlet  entitled  '  Evils  of  the  work  now  prevailing  in 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OP  DR.   RALSTON.  203 

the  United  States  of  America,  under  the  name  of  a  revival 
of  religion.'  Wherein  their  objections  to  this  work  are  exam- 
ined, and  shown  to  be  unfounded ;  and  the  work  vindicated, 
as  being  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God.  Prov.  17 :  17, 
'  He  that  is  first  in  his  own  cause  seemeth  just ;  but  his 
neighbor  cometh  and  searcheth  him/  " 

The  first  letter  is  dated  November  1st,  1804,  and  begins 
thus : 

"  Gentlemen, : — It  may  be  a  sufficient  apology  for  address- 
ing the  following  letters  to  you,  that  I  believe  the  work  now 
prevailing  in  the  United  States  of  America,  under  the  name 
of  a  Revival  of  Religion,  to  be  a  gracious  work  of  the  Spirit 
of  God ;  but  which  you,  in  a  late  pamphlet,  to  which  you 
have  affixed  your  names,  style  in  your  title-page,  "  an  evil 
work,"  and  elsewhere,  "  a  work  of  delusion ;"  "  a  work  of 
enthusiasm  j"  nay,  "  a  work  of  the  devil."  My  design  in 
these  letters  is  to  examine  your  objections  to  this  work,  and 
the  testimony  on  which  these  objections  are  founded ;  and 
then  to  assign  the  reasons  which  have  induced  me  to  believe, 
and  attempt  to  defend  it,  as  a  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for 
the  conviction  and  conversion  of  sinners,  and  for  building  up 
believers  in  their  most  holy  faith." 

We  shall  not  attempt  an  abstract  of  this  able  produc- 
tion. He  takes  up  the  several  objections,  or  charges  brought 
against  the  revival,  as, — "  that  it  is  a  work  upon  the  bodies 
of  men;"  —  "that  it  cannot  be  a  work  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  because  bodily  affections  are  not  means  of  grace  j" — 
"  that  it  tends  to  bring  the  subjects  of  it  under  such  an 
influence  of  their  imagination  and  feelings,  as  is  incon- 
sistent with  a  due  regard  to  the  word  of  God,  as  the  only 
ground  of  faith  and  rule  of  duty )" — "  that  it  savors  of 
enthusiasm,  because  the  subjects  of  the  falling  exercise  are 
opposed  to  any  medical  applications ;" — "  that  it  tends  to 


204  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

the  burial  of  a  faithful  testimony  for  many  of  the  precious 
truths  of  God's  word,  that  are  denied  by  various  religious 
denominations  at  the  present  day;" — " that  bodily  exercises 
are  rather  to  be  deprecated,  as  a  judgment,  than  prayed  for 
as  benefits  ;" — "  a  judgment,",  it  is  insinuated,  rather  than 
expressed,  "for  singing  Watts'  Psalms  and  Hymns;"  and 
lastly,  "  the  gross  disorders  of  it."  Dr.  Ralston  takes  up 
these  several  charges,  meets  them  fairly,  and  candidly  makes 
many  admissions,  in  perfect  consistence  with  a  full  and  con- 
clusive refutation  of  the  several  grounds  of  objection.  "  The 
Currycomb"  must  be  carefully  read  to  be  fully  appreciated. 
We  cannot  withhold  a  passage  towards  the  close  of  the  dis- 
cussion, that  may  serve  as  a  sample  of  its  power  :  "  Having 
thus  examined  your  pamphlet  particularly — more  particularly 
than  I  at  first  intended,  or  than  it,  perhaps,  deserved — I  will 
now  leave  it  with  the  reader  to  decide  whether  your  objections 
to  this  work  are  well  founded  or  not.  That  they  are  not  sup- 
ported by  the  evidence  and  arguments  you  have  produced  for 
that  purpose,  I  think  I  may  say,  without  vanity,  I  have 
clearly  shown ;  and,  therefore,  before  you  overthrow  it,  you 
must  take  some  other  ground  than  that  you  have  taken.  I 
will  now,  as  I  have  promised,  assign  you  a  few  of  the  reasons 
which  have  convinced  me  that  it  is  a  gracious  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  In  the  first  place,  this  work  was  begun  and 
carried  on,  in  this  country,  (for  I  do  not  choose  to  take  my 
testimony  from  mangled  scraps  of  foreign  letters,  for  which 
no  person  or  persons  are  accountable  but  their  authors,) 
under  the  preaching  and  influence  of  the  following  doctrines, 
viz  :  the  doctrine  of  the  infinite  guilt  and  total  depravity  of 
the  human  race,  by  the  first  sin  of  our  first  parents,  in  conse- 
quence of  being  represented  by  them  in  the  covenant  of 
works  :  the  doctrine  of  the  election  of  part  of  the  human 
race  to  eternal  life,  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit  and 
belief  of  the  truth  :  the  doctrine  of  justification  through  the 
imputed  righteousness  of  the  Lord  Jesus;  of   regeneration 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH  OF  DR.   RALSTON.  205 

by  the  almighty  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God  alone ;  and  of 
the  certain  perseverance  of  all  believers,  by  virtue  of  the 
complete  satisfaction  of  Christ,  and  the  unchangeable  promises 
of  God ;  together  with  the  other  doctrines  of  grace,  depend- 
ing upon  and  connected  with  these  leading  doctrines.  You 
cannot  but  know,  gentlemen,  that  these  doctrines  are  con- 
tained in  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Presbyterian  Churches 
in  the  United  States  of  America :  and  I  can  say,  that  they 
are  preached  by  the  ministers  of  this  Church,  in  this  country. 
It  is  not  true,  then,  as  you  say,  in  the  eleventh  page  of  your 
pamphlet,  '  That  they  insist  perpetually  upon  the  sanction 
of  the  law,  to  the  exclusion  of  other  doctrines  no  less  neces- 
sary in  their  place  ;'  and  '  that  they  preach  the  terrors  of 
the  law  to  the  people,  as  if  they  had  nothing  else  to  preach 
to  them.'  That  you  meant  them  in  that  paragraph,  I 
believe ;  and  I  think  you  have  so  much  candor  left  as  to 
acknowledge  it,  if  you  were  interrogated.  You  cannot  say 
so,  from  your  own  personal  knowledge ;  for  your  doctrine 
respecting  '  occasional  hearing'  has  prevented  you.  Your 
ground,  then,  for  saying  so,  is  taken  from  hearsay,  or  the 
reports  of  enemies;  as  was  the  case  respecting  the  work  we 
have  been  considering.  No  wonder,  then,  that  you  mistake 
and  blunder,  when  you  depend  upon  such  vague  and  indefinite 
evidence.  But  not  to  insist  upon  this  :  Secondly,  that  this 
is  a  gracious  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is  apparent  to  me, 
from  the  effects  it  has  produced.  It  has  arrested  the  atten- 
tion of  the  careless  and  unconcerned.  It  has  aroused  the 
stupid  sinner  to  a  sense  of  his  danger,  and  induced  him  to 
cry  out,  '  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved  V  It  has  discovered  to 
the  ignorant  and  self-righteous,  that  they  are  not  only  guilty 
before  God,  but  also  that  '  their  hearts  are  deceitful  above  all 
things,  and  desperately  wicked;'  and  that  they  need  the 
righteousness  of  Christ,  in  order  to  justification  and  accept- 
ance with  God.  It  has  caused  those  who  seldom  or  never 
bowed  the  knee  to  God,  or  attended  on  the  ordinances  of  the 

in 


206  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

gospel,  to  cry,  '  God  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner ;'  and  to 
attend  diligently  on  the  means  of  grace.  It  has  reclaimed 
the  wicked  and  the  profligate,  and  transformed  the  lion  into 
a  lamb.  It  has  brought  professed  deists  to  become  professed 
Christians,  and  turned  their  cursings  into  blessings,  and  their 
blasphemies  into  praises.  Many  who  could  not  relish  any 
religious  conversation,  are  now  only  delighted  when  talking 
about  the  plan  of  salvation,  and  the  wonders  of  redeeming 
love ;  and  many,  very  many,  give  evidence,  by  their  life  and 
conversation,  that  they  are  born  of  God.  And  to  this  I  would 
add,  that  it  has  had  this  effect  on  many  of  all  ranks,  ages, 
sexes,  and  colors ;  the  African  as  well  as  the  European  and 
American.  And  the  combined  hosts  of  deists,  hypocrites 
and  formalists  are  generally  opposed  to  it.  Some  also  have 
fallen  away  :  but  this  is  no  objection,  but  rather  an  evidence 
that  it  is  a  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  for  Christ  informs  us, 
in  the  parable  of  the  Sower,  (Matt.  13,)  that  the  seed,  or 
the  Word  of  God,  fell  by  '  the  way-side,'  upon  '  stony  places/ 
and  '  among  thorns/  as  well  as  into  '  good  ground.' ,; 

This  able  pamphlet  was  most  seasonable  and  effective.  It 
completely  silenced  the  hostile  party.  Their  pamphlet  was 
written  with  great  plausibility,  and  evinced  pre-eminent  talent. 
It  was  far  from  being  a  weak  or  scurrilous  production.  Indeed, 
the  greater  part  of  it  is  admirable  ;  especially  the  first  twelve 
or  thirteen  pages,  in  which  the  nature  of  the  Holy  Spirit's 
operations,  in  convincing  and  converting  sinners,  is  described. 
This  part  of  the  Seceder  pamphlet  deserves  to  be  republished, 
as  a  tract.  Nothing  that  we  have  ever  read,  is  better  suited 
to  warn  the  Church  against  fanatical  errors.  Being  placed  in 
the  outset  of  the  pamphlet,  it  is  well  suited  to  gain  the  confi- 
dence of  the  reader.  No  one  can  doubt  the  piety  and  deep 
experience  of  the  writers.  But  all  this  rendered  their  attack 
on  the  revival  so  much  the  more  mischievous.  It  reminds  us 
of  the  plausible  manner  in  which  certain  brethren  would  begin 
their  speeches  iu  the  General  Assembly,  twenty  years  ago. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  DR.  RALSTON.      207 

They  w^re  so  piou?  an  1  11123k,  an!  peacedoving,  s  1  earnest  in 
deprecating  strife  and  contention,  &c,  an  1  then  they  w  >ul  I 
pour  out .  th  bitter est  invectives  and  sarcasm*,  and  pelt  their 
brethrn  of  tha  opposite  p.ir'y  most  unmercifully.  Buf,  in 
regirl  to  these  Sjceler  writers,  we  bdieve  th  y  werj  sincere 
an  I  h  mes^,  an  I  truly  pious  111  :n.  Bat  th  -y  were  misled  by 
prejulice.  Tuywre  misinformed.  They  relie  1  too  much, 
as  Dr.  Ralston  told  them,  on  hearsay.  The  giant  am  nag 
them  wis  Dr.  John  Anderson,  of  King's  Creek,  a  man  of 
profounl  literary  and  theological  attain  neuts,  and  of  eminent 
piety,  but  a  perfect  recluse  in  his  habits,  as  ignorant  of  the 
world  as  a  monk,  or  Goldsmith's  parson  in  the  Vicar  of 
Wakefield;  an  1  easily  mislel  by  others,  as  t>whit  was  going 
on  in  the  world  aroun  1  him. 

Soon  after  th)  "Currycomb"  wis  published,  Dr.  Ralston 
wrote  to  his  countrymm  ml  ministerial  brother,  the  Rev. 
Sc)iij'  Porter,  in  I  sent  him  i  opy  )f  hi-  pamphlet,  asking 
his  r!,nt;-ta  u_>  m  it.  H)  receivel  in  lu:  time  the  following 
highly  characteristic  an  J  entertaining  answer: 

"  Westmoreland,  March  24,  1305. 
"  Rev'd.  Brother: — I  received  your  letter  and  pamphlet, 
an  1  hive  taken  up  my  pen  to  make  observations,  to»whieh 
n  >th'.ng  c  ml  1  have  excited  me  but  the  urgency  of  y  >ur  request. 
Few  clergy  nen  cin  beir  anything  but  flattery  ;  an  I  I  despise 
the  wiat  of  cmlir.  Therefore,  silence  is  generally  best. 
Ymr  piece  is  a  good  desultory  defence  anl  attack,  and  looks 
unre  like  the  fortunate  open  n a;  of  a  campaign  than  the  battle 
which  terminates  a  w  ir.  You  have,  with  propriety,  made 
excursions  into  the  territories  of  your  enemies  ;  an  1  have 
treated  th  ;m  as  they  deserved,  and  with  the  very  same  kind 
of  delicacy  with  which  they  hive  treated  the  Presbyterians; 
exc -p^  th  it  you  hive  given  them  some  fal,  lal,  a^out,  y  >ur 
friendship  to  their  Church,  and  hopes  of  their  reformation. 
You  charge  your  antagonists  with  the  crime  of  assigning  par- 


208  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

ticular  causes  for  the  judgments  of  God,  and,  although  you 
use  qualified  language,  yet  you  are,  in  fact,  strongly  guilty  of 
the  same  practice.  It  will  give  you  some  trouble  to  defend 
your  reasoning  from  Hebrew  12 :  5. — '  Strengthen  the  hands 
of  Voltaire.'  Voltaire  is  dead  :  what  figure  in  rhetoric  will 
support  the  expression  ?  Pages  13,  14,  you  insinuate  that  it 
is  not  strange  for  those  who  have  been  educated  in  America, 
or  in  the  backwoods,  to  be  ignorant  of  logic  and  destitute  of 
common  sense.  '  Sucked  the  breasts  of  the  Universities/ 
is  not,  to  my  recollection,  sanctioned  by  any  of  the  English 
classical  authors.  Your  criticism  on  the  difference  between 
'  suffer'  and  '  experience,'  as  applied  to  convulsive  spasms,  is 
ingenious,  but  it  will  probably  be  thought  to  belong  to  the 
wire-drawing  system.  '  Is  the  work  in  question  a  work  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  can  Anderson's  theological  pills  prevent 
the  Almighty  Spirit  from  extending  the  work  ?'  Page  37. 
Your  reasoning  respecting  Peter's  hearers  is  liable  to  criti- 
cism. I  am  not  certain  '  that  the  work  has  neither  impaired 
the  bodies  nor  the  minds  of  any  of  the  subjects  of  it,  in  the 
smallest  degree.'  Page  48.  I  do  not  see  how  the  absurdity 
in  question,  nor  any  other  absurdity  of  the  Seceders,  can 
afford  a  strong  proof  that  the  work  is  a  work  of  the  Spirit  of 
God. ,  '  Falling  away'  is  not  a  very  strong  evidence  of  a  work 
of  the  Spirit  of  God.  You  may  be  able  to  defend  what  you 
have  advanced  respecting  a  concert  of  prayer,  but  I  could  not. 
It  is  probable  that  the  eye  of  criticism  will  discover,  in  several 
places,  that  your  assertions  are  stronger  than  the  evidence  by 
which  they  are  supported.  On  the  whole,  you  are  able  to 
defend  the  main  ground.  And  you  will  understand  my  idea 
of  the  piece  generally,  when  I  inform  you  that  since  I  read 
it,  I  have  determined  that  I  will  not  deliver  my  sermon  before 
the  Synod,  but  will  take  some  common-place  subject,  for  the 
reason  that  I  think  the  Seceders  are  in  good  hands,  and  they 
have  got,  and  will  get  so  much  beating,  that  it  would  be 
unmanly  and  cruel  for  me  to  fall  upon  them  too.     Therefore 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OP   DR.    RALSTON.  209 

I  shall  transcribe  my  sermon,  make  some  alterations  and  addi- 
tions, and  leave  it  among  my  papers  for  the  use  of  my  chil- 
dren, when  I  am  gone.     I  am,  &c, 

"Sam'l.  Porter. 
"  Mr.  Ralston. 

"P.  S.  On  reading  your  pamphlet,  I  committed  the  above 
observations  to  paper,  and  intended  to  correct  and  enlarge 
them,  and  send  them  to  you  by  post.  But  just  as  I  had 
finished  my  outlines,  Mr.  M'Millan,  Jr.,  came  in;  and  I 
now  send  them  in  their  original  dress.  I  have  read  the  piece 
a  second  time,  and  am  more  strongly  convinced  that  your 
comment  on  Heb.  12  :  5,  will  not  stand  the  test  of  sound  criti- 
cism. Your  criticism  on  the  expression  '  some  ministers/  &c, 
page  32,  may  possibly  be  traced  to  the  hair-splitting  system. 
'  Ye,'  instead  of  '  you/  has  become  in  a  great  measure  obso- 
lete, with  good  writers.  Your  excursions  to  Noblestown,  &c, 
&c,  &c,  are  deservedly  severe ;  but  I  am  afraid  that  men 
who  are  not  acquainted  with  the  treatment  we  have  received 
from  the  Western  Seceders,  will  think  that  they  were  written 
in  the  old  exploded  polemic  spirit.  In  a  word,  your  pamphlet 
will  please  the  majority  of  the  friends  of  the  work ;  and  it 
will  bring  the  coldest  Seceder  under  heaven,  who  reads  it,  to 
experience  warm,  lively  feelings.  You  are  undoubtedly  able 
to  fight  the  Seceders,  up  and  down,  crooked  or  straight,  rough 
or  smooth,  and  with  their  own  weapons,  too. 

«  S.  P." 

On  the  back  of  the  letter  is  written,  "  Send  me  two  dozen 
copies  of  your  Spirits  of  Vitriol. "  * 


*  It  will  be  seen  from  this  letter,  that  Mr.  Porter  twice  refers  to  Mr.  Rals- 
ton's  inference  from  Heb.  12  :  5,  "The  Word  of  God  is  quick  and  powerful," 
Ac.  "Not  only,"  says  Dr.  Ralston,  "is  it  evident  to  me,  from  this  passage, 
that  the  Word  of  God,  in  the  hand  of  the  Almighty  Spirit,  acts  sometimes 
as  instantaneously  on  the  soul  as  an  electric  shock  on  the  body,  but  that 
when  applied  with  power,  the  body,  or  what  the  Apostle  styles  '  the  joints 
and  marrow,'  is  affected  as  instantaneously  also,  by  virtue  of  its  union  with 

18* 


210  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

Upon  a  review  of  the  positions  taken  and  the  course  pursued 
by  the  Seceders,  in  reference  to  the  great  "Western  revival,  at 
this  distant  point  of  time,  we  are  by  no  means  certain  that, 
after  all,  they  did  not  exert  a  wholesome  conservative  influ- 
ence during  that  period.  We  are  not  sure  that  but  for  them, 
there  was  not  some  real  danger,  in  certain  quarters,  of  the 
friends  and  subjects  of  the  "  falling  work,"  as  it  was  called, 
running  into  fanatical  and  pernicious  excesses.  Nor,  on  the 
other  hand,  were  the  Seceders  cut  off  from  all  benefit  of  that 
mighty  outpouring  of  the  Spirit.  For  many  years  past, 
dating  back  nearly,  if  not  quite,  to  that  period,  this  section 
of  the  Presbyterian  body  has  been  growing  into  a  more  evan- 
gelical spirit,  has  been  becoming  increasingly  active,  in  the 
various  causes  of  Bible  and  Tract  distribution,  of  Sunday- 


the  soul ;  and  this  passage  satisfies  uie  with  respect  to  the  bodily  affections 
so  prevalent  in  the  present  day,  which  seem  to  be  a  stumbling  block  to  so 
many."  Most  readers  will,  perhaps,  concur  with  Mr.  Portor  in  doubting  the 
soundness  of  this  reasoning.  Mr.  Porter's  remark  that  Dr.  Ralston  had 
insinuated  that  "it  is  not  strange  that  those  educated  in  the  backwoods 
should  be  ignorant  of  logic  and  destitute  of  common  sense,"  is  altogether  a 
mistake.  Dr.  Ralston's  language  is  this :  "  That  those  of  you  who  have 
been  educated  in  America,  or  in  the  backwoods,  where,  as  I  have  been  told, 
some  of  you  say  there  is  little  learning  to  bo  found,  especially  among  tho 
Presbyterian  clergy,  should  reason  in  this  manner,  would  perhaps  not  bo 
strange ;  but  that  two  of  you,  who  have  sucked  the  breasts  of  the  most 
renowned  Universities  of  Scotland,  and  one  of  you,  tho  father  of  a  wholo 
volume,  besides  several  pamphlets,  should  thus  reason,  is  to  me  truly  aston- 
ishing." It  is  plain  that  Mr.  Porter's  criticism  is  without  foundation.  He 
excepts  also  to  the  classical  purity  of  the  expression,  "  sucked  the  breasts  of 
the  Universities,"  forgetting  tho  language  in  Isaiah,  60:  16:  "Thou  shalt 
also  suck  the  milk  of  the  Gentiles,  and  shalt  suck  tho  broast  of  kings."  We 
shall  not,  however,  examine  all  Mr.  Porter's  remarks  and  criticisms.  As  in 
the  foregoing  specimens,  some  of  them  appear  to  be  sound,  and  others  of 
little  force.  We  cannot  concur  with  Mr.  Porter  in  his  remark  that  Enlston's 
pamphlet  "seemed  moro  like  the  fortunate  opening  of  a  campaign  than  tho 
battle  which  terminates  the  war."  Though  it  was  doubtless  opon,  in  many 
places,  to  successful  assault,  yet  as  a  wholo  it  was  the  closing  battle,  as  it 
certainly  provod  in  fact. 


I 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  DR.  RALSTON.     211 

schools,  and  of  foreign  and  domestic  missions.  Their  preach- 
ing, always  instructive  in  matter,  is,  of  late  years,  improving 
in  manner.  Their  sermons,  considered  as  exhibitions  and 
vindications  of  "the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,"  were 
generally  superior  to  those  of  most  of  our  ministers.  But 
their  preachers  lacked  animation,  pathos,  and  unction.  They 
seemed  to  eschew  all  natural  eloquence.  It  was  certainly 
right  for  them  to  cherish  an  abhorrence  and  contempt  of  all 
appearance  of  playing  the  orator,  or  making  rhetorical  flour- 
ishes in  the  sacred  desk.  But  from  some  unaccountable  cause, 
they  seemed  to  run  to  the  opposite  extreme.  We  have  heard 
many  of  them  making  able  speeches  in  their  judicatories, 
with  natural  tones  of  voice,  in  an  easy,  fluent  and  graceful 
manner.  But  when  they  entered  the  pulpit,  they  left  all  this 
behind  them,  and  seemed  to  think  it  a  sin  to  preach  in  the 
same  easy,  natural  way  in  which  they  made  their  speeches. 
But  we  are  satisfied  that  there  is  a  great  improvement,  as  we 
deem  it,  in  all  these  respects,  of  late  years.  And  we  cannot 
but  rejoice  that  this  branch  of  the  Presbyterian  family,  to 
whom  the  church  at  large  is  more  indebted  for  its  conserva- 
tive influence  than  we  have  ever,  perhaps,  been  willing  to 
acknowledge,  abounds  with  many  of  the  most  eloquent,  as 
well  as  the  most  sound  and  orthodox  ministers  in  our  Western 
Zion. 

For  several  yaers,  Dr.  Ralston  pursued  the  even  tenor  of 
his  course,  as  a  diligent  and  faithful  country  pastor.  Soon 
after  his  settlement  at  Mingo,  he  became  a  Trustee  of  the 
Academy  at  Canonsburg.  His  name  first  appears  on  the 
records  of  the  Board,  April  24th,  1798.  When,  in  1802,  a 
charter  for  Jefferson  College  was  obtained,  his  name  is  found 
in  the  Act  of  the  Legislature,  among  the  list  of  Trustees. 
He  was  chosen  President  of  the  Board,  April  26th,  1808,  and 
re-elected  to  that  office  every  year  for  nearly  forty  years  !  His 
attendance  at  the  semi-annual  meetings  of  the  Board  was 
almost   constant.     Regularly  in  March  and  September,  he 


212  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

would  be  found  wending  his  way  from  bis  borne,  through  all 
kinds  of  weather,  fourteen  miles,  to  Canonsburg.  Over  the 
interests  of  that  rising  institution  he  watched  with  parental 
solicitude  and  care.  And  richly  was  he  rewarded  by  its  grow- 
ing prosperity  and  success,  and  especially  by  the  great  num- 
ber of  ministers  of  the  Gospel  that  were  conducted  through 
their  collegiate  course,  during  his  long  administration  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  Board.  It  may  not  be  out  of  place,  or  uninter- 
esting to  some,  to  observe  that  as  President  of  the  Trustees 
he  succeeded  Judge  John  M' Dowell,  w.ho  had  been  chosen 
April  27th,  1803,  and  re-elected  four  successive  years,  till  his 
age  and  infirmities  compelled  him  to  resign.  "When,  in  1802, 
the  Academy  was  raised  to  a  College,  Judge  James  Edgar 
was  chosen  President.  It  is  true  Dr.  M'Millan  was  chosen 
the  first  President  of  the  Trustees  of  the .  College ;  but  two 
days  afterwards,  when  he  was  appointed  Vice  President  of 
the  College,  and  Professor  of  Divinity,  his  seat  as  a  Trustee 
was  necessarily  vacated,  and  Judge  Edgar  was  appointed 
President  in  his  place,  and  another  person  was  elected  to  fill 
the  vacancy  in  the  Board.  Having  already,  in  "  Old  Red- 
stone," given  some  account  of  this  very  eminent  man,  we 
will  add  nothing  further  respecting  him  here.  But  the  first 
President  of  the  old  Board  of  the  Academy,  whose  name 
appears  on  their  records  in  1796,  was  another  man,  perhaps 
not  much  inferior  to  either  of  those  above  mentioned — Judge 
James  Allison,  who,  like  the  others,  was  also  a  ruling  elder 
in  the  Church.  These  three  men  were  all  very  eminent  for 
their  piety  and  great  influence  in  the  Church.  They  were  all 
of  Scotch-Irish  descent — all  emigrated  from  Eastern  Penn- 
sylvania about  the  same  time,  and  lived  to  exert  a  blessed 
influence  on  the  cause  of  education  and  religion  in  the  West. 
Dr.  Ralston  might  well  be  gratified  by  having  such  a  noble 
set  of  men  as  his  predecessors  in  oflice. 

It  is  a  little  out  of  chronological  order  to  notice  here  a 
circumstance   in   the   life   of   Dr.   Ralston,  which   properly 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   DR.    RALSTON.  213 

belongs  to  the  summer  of  1801  or  1802.  He  took  an  excur- 
sion to  Ohio,  and  was  engaged  for  some  weeks  in  preaching 
the  Gospel,  visiting  destitute  "  settlements"  and  organizing 
churches.  Among  the  churches  he  organized  were  Mount 
Pleasant  and  Buckskin,  not  far  from  Cincinnati.  In  these 
churches,  shortly  after,  began  that  mighty  work  of  grace,  the 
first  revival  of  religion  west  of  the  Ohio.  This  was  in  the 
summer  and  fall  of  1802.  These,  and  several  other  churches 
in  that  region,  had  applied  to  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  at  their 
April  meeting,  in  Washington,  for  supplies  :  and  the  Rev. 
Robert  Johnston,  then  but  recently  licensed,  was  sent  out  by 
the  Presbytery  to  supply  these  churches  for  two  months. 
While  he  was  there,  the  revival,  which  had  spread  extensively 
during  the  previous  year,  through  the  southei'n  and  western 
part  of  Kentucky,  seemed  to  cross  the  Ohio,  and  make  its 
first  beginning  and  gather  its  first  fruits  in  those  churches 
which  Dr.  Ralston  had  previously  organized.  We  may  well 
conceive  how  this  circumstance  would  fill  him  with  rejoicing 
and  gratitude ;  and  perhaps  it  greatly  contributed  to  deepen 
his  interest  in  that  mighty  work,  which  he  was,  three  years 
afterwards,  engaged  in  defending  against  the  assaults  of  its 
enemies.  For  the  greater  part  of  the  above  statement  we  are 
indebted  to  the  Rev.  H.  S.  Fullerton,  of  South  Salem,  Ohio, 
and  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Wylie. 

We  pass  over  a  considerable  period  of  Dr.  Ralston's  life, 
which,  though  filled  up  with  arduous  labor,  and  with  many 
interesting  incidents,  in  his  various  relations  of  pastor,  pres- 
byter and  trustee,  yet  scarcely  possess  sufficient  importance 
to  find  a  place  in  our  limited  biographical  sketch.  We  come 
next  to  notice  his  second  debut,  as  an  author,  in  1824.  A 
few  years  previous  to  this  time,  there  appeared  in  Western 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  a  young  Scotch-Irishman,  Alex- 
ander Campbell,  accompanied  by  his  father,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Campbell.  The  elder  Campbell  had  been  a  preacher  before 
he  left  his  native  land,  and  came  out  from  Ireland  some  time 


214  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

before  the  son.  He  preached  in  one  or  two  vacant  Secession 
churches  in  Washington  County,  without  leave  or  authority 
from  the  Presbytery.  And  when  he  subsequently  sought 
admission  into  the  Presbytery  and  was  rejected,  he  still  con- 
tinued to  preach  in  some  of  their  vacant  churches,  to  the 
serious,  though  temporary  distraction  and  confusion  of  those 
churches.  Upon  the  arrival  of  his  son,  they  both  sought 
ecclesiastical  connection  with  the  Associate  Presbytery  of 
Chartiers,  and  with  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio.  But  failing  to 
attain  the  position  they  sought,  they  soon  obtained  notoriety 
by  a  new  and  bold  path  they  made  for  themselves,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Baptist  church.*  It  was  but  a  short  time,  before 
the  novelty  of  their  principles,  and  the  revolutionary  tendency 
of  their  discourse,  threw  them  out  of  fellowship  with  that 
body.  But  they  drew  after  them  an  immense  number  of  follow- 
ers, principally  from  the  Baptist  persuasion.  In  respect  to 
the  ordinance  of  baptism,  they  were  thorough  Baptists,  both 
as  to  the  subjects  and  mode  of  that  Christian  rite.  But  they 
discarded  the  old  doctrinal  system  of  the  Baptists,  in  almost 
every  other  respect.  When  they  reached  this  point  in  their 
career,  the  younger  Campbell  became  the  great  leader  and 
champion.      According  to  their  new  creed,  to   be   immersed 

*  "  They  first  appeared  before  the  Redstone  Association,  in  September,  1S13, 
with  one  or  two  others,  as  delegates  from  a  recently  organized  church  on 
Brush  creek,  about  twenty  miles  west  of  Washington  ;  asking  for  themselves 
and  the  church  which  they  represented,  the  fellowship  of  the  Association. 
They  had  recently  been  baptizod  on  a  profession  of  their  faith  in  Christ,  by 
the  Rev.  Matthias  Luce,  pastor  of  a  Baptist  church  on  Ten-mile  creek. 
The  Messrs.  Campbell,  father  and  son,  had  recently  come  from  Ireland, 
where  they  had  been  connected  with  the  Secession  church,  of  which  the 
father  had  been  a  distinguished  minister.  They  then  maintained  with  firm- 
ness and  ability  the  leading  doctrines  of  the  Calvinistic  school,  but  refused 
to  acknowledge  any  Confession  of  Faith  ;  but  at  the  same  time  ngrecd  to  sub- 
mit to  the  most  rigid  examination  of  their  doctrinal  principles  that  the  Asso- 
ciation, or  any  of  its  members,  might  think  proper  to  make.  A  careful 
examination  was  made  and  they  were  received  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Asso- 
ciation."— "  Two  Discourses,"  by  Dr.  Eatep. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OF   DR.    RALSTON.  215 

was  to  perform  the  act  of  faith ;  and  baptism,  by  immersion, 
secured  the  remission  of  sins.  There  was  no  need  of  a  spe- 
cial agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  regenerate  the  sinner.  The 
doctrine  of  regeneration,  as  we,  in  common  with  orthodox 
Baptists,  hold  it,  was  utterly  repudiated  by  Alexander  Camp- 
bell. These,  and  a  few  other  less  important  points,  together 
with  a  furious  assault  upon  all  creeds  and  confessions,  made 
up  what  is  now  extensively  known  by  the  name  of  "  Camp- 
bellism."  Mr.  Campbell,  Jr.,  eagerly  sought  public  discus- 
sion, and  challenged  the  clerical  world  to  furnish  a  champion. 
The  Rev.  John  Walker,  of  the  Secession  church,  took  up  the 
gauntlet  and  met  Mr.  Campbell.  They  discussed  the  subject 
of  baptism  for  several  days.  This  debate  Mr.  Campbell  soon 
after  published;  giving  of  course  his  own  version  of  it,  very 
much  to  his  own  advantage.  He  claimed  a  complete  victory. 
He  and  his  friends  were  active  in  giving  a  wide  circulation  to 
the  pamphlet.  The  adroitness  of  Mr.  Campbell  was  particu- 
larly displayed  in  making  this  debate  turn  mainly  on  the 
subject  of  baptism,  its  mode  and  proper  subjects;  and  under 
covert  of  this  pretended  triumph,  more  successfully  propa- 
gating his  more  vital  doctrinal  errors,  and  gaining  proselytes, 
.especially  from  the  Baptists,  to  his  party.  This  was,  indeed, 
the  result,  beyond,  perhaps,  his  most  sanguine  expectations. 
Great  pains  we're  taken  to  throw  this  pamphlet  over  the  entire 
field  of  Dr.  Ralston's  labors.  The  Doctor  found  it  necessary 
to  buckle  on  his  armor  and  prepare  for  battle.  This  he  did 
in  his  pulpit.  But  in  this  way  alone,  he  knew  he  could  not 
fully  reach  the  evil.  He  wrote  and  published  in  the  Presby- 
terian Magazine,  a  series  of  letters,  reviewing  the  debate. 
These  letters  he  soon  after  published  in  a  pamphlet  of  300 
pages.  He  had  carefully  revised  and  enlarged  the  letters, 
and  added  two  more,  addressed  to  Mr.  Walker.  The  work 
is  entitled  "  A  Review  of  a  Debate  on  Christian  Baptism, 
between  Mr.  John  Walker,  a  minister  of  the  Secession,  and 
Mr.  Alexander  Campbell,  a  Baptist  minister,  published  by 


216  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

>Ir.  Campbell — in  a  series  of  letters  addressed  and  dedicated 
■o  the  united  congregations  of  Mingo  creek  and  Williamsport : 
by  their  affectionate  pastor,  Samuel  Ralston.  To  which  is 
aow  added  a  reply  to  objections  made  by  both  Mr.  Campbell 
■and  Mr.  Walker."  This  little  book  was  published  in  Wash- 
ington, 1825.  It  is  certainly  a  masterly  performance.  It 
carries  us  over  the  entire  field  usually  occupied  by  the  Baptist 
controversy.  The  reader  will  find  every  argument  of  essen- 
tial importance  fully  and  fairly  brought  forward,  on  both 
sides  of  the  subject.  It  is  a  valuable  storehouse,  an  excellent 
arsenal,  where  any  one  who  may  have  occasion,  will  find  all 
he  wants,  in  discussing  the  subject  of  baptism.  There  is, 
however,  one  feature  of  this  valuable  work,  which  not  a  little 
mars  it,  in  our  estimation.  He  contends  that  the  Abrahamic 
covenant,  recorded  in  the  17th  chapter  of  Genesis,  is  a  mere 
ecclesiastical  covenant — that  as  circumcision  was  its  seal 
under  the  former  dispensation,  so  baptism  is  now  the  seal 
merely  of  the  external,  visible  church — that  a  profession  of 
saving  faith  is  not  necessary  to  admission,  through  the  ordi- 
nance of  baptism;  in  other  words,  that  an  historical  faith,  a 
moral  life,  and  professed  subjection  to  the  discipline  of  the 
church,  are  sufficient  to  entitle  any  one  to  admission  into  the 
visible  church  by  baptism,  and  to  bring  with  them  also,  of 
course,  their  children.  Yet  he  would  not,  on  these  terms, 
receive  them  to  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  In  order 
to  admission  to  this  seal  of  the  covenant,  satisfactory  evidence 
of  evangelical  repentance  and  saving  faith,  should  be  required. 
In  this  way  he  would  distinguish,  in  regard  to  the  two  ordi- 
nances of  the  Gospel.  His  views  of  the  true  construction  of 
the  commission  "  to  disciple  all  nations,"  are  of  course  modi- 
fied by  his  positions,  as  to  the  qualifications  requisite  to  admis- 
sion, by  baptism,  into  the  visible  church.  He  believed  that 
not  only  infants,  but  others  who  are  willing  to  place  them- 
selves under  the  culture  of  the  church,  are,  by  baptism,  taken 
out  of  the  visible  kingdom  of  Satan,  in  which  all  are  born, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OF   DR.    RALSTON.  217 

as  the  children  of  a  degenerate  parent,  and  planted  in  the 
vineyard,  or  church  of  God,  the  usual  hirth-place  of  the  chil- 
dren of  grace;  and  become  entitled,  by  the  divine  promise, 
to  what  Christ  calls,  "  digging  about  and  dunging,"  or  such 
instruction,  by  the  Word  and  Spirit,  through  the  instrumen- 
tality of  their  parents,  and  of  the  church,  as  is  calculated  to 
make  them  "  trees  of  righteousness,  the  planting  of  the  Lord, 
that  he  might  be  glorified."  Through  various  portions  of 
the  work,  Dr.  Ralston  maintains,  with  great  ingenuity  and 
force  of  argument,  his  peculiar  views.  He  endeavors  also  to 
meet  every  objection.  He  is  very  far  from  defending  any 
lax  or  latitudinarian  system,  as  to  the  discipline  of  the  church, 
or  as  to  admission  to  the  Lord's  Table.  He  is  no  advocate 
for  any  mincing  or  softening  down  of  the  terms  of  the  gospel, 
or  the  humbling  truths  of  man's  total  depravity,  and  entire 
dependence  on  the  sovereign  grace  of  God,  for  a  new  heart 
and  a  right  spirit.  Yet  we  think  he  entirely  breaks  down, 
when  he  attempts  to  show  a  distinction  between  the  condi- 
tions of  the  two  seals  of  the  covenant ;  or  rather,  to  show 
that  one  is  a  seal  of  an  ecclesiastical  covenant,  and  the  other 
the  seal  of  the  covenant  of  grace.  And  when  he  attempts 
to  explain  away  the  cases  of  Lydia,  of  the  Jailor,  and  of  the 
Eunuch,  in  every  one  of  which  it  seems  to  us  clear,  that  not 
a  mere  speculative  or  historical  faith,  but  a  true,  saving  faith 
was  professed,  we  think  there  is  what  Mr.  Porter  calls  much 
"  wire-drawing."  It  is  not  our  purpose,  however,  to  discuss 
this  subject.  We  must  admit  that  Dr.  Ralston  has  put  forth 
the  strength  of  a  mighty  mind  in  maintaining  his  ground. 
And  we  would  advise  any  one  who  may  ever  meet  with  this 
work,  to  read  over  Turretine's  "  De  fcedere  gratioe,"  especially 
his  "  Locus  duodecimus,"  before  he  decides  the  question, 
which  Dr.  Ralston  so  ably  discusses. 

The  progress  of  "  Campbellism"  in  Western  Pennsylvania, 
we  have  no   doubt,  was  greatly  checked  by  Dr.  Ralston's 
work.     That  bold,  eloquent,  talented,  but  unscrupulous  here- 
19 


218  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

siarch,  was  shown  up  in  his  true  colors,  and  his  influence  was 
crippled.  Except  in  a  few  localities,  where  there  was  little 
opportunity  to  enlighten  the  people,  his  erroneous  tenets 
gathered  but  few  disciples.  And  so  matters  remain  to  this 
day.  So  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn,  that  form  of  error 
is  on  the  decline  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  and  evangelical 
Christianity  should  honor  the  memory  of  Dr.  Ralston.* 

In  1842,  Dr.  Ilalston  published  "  A  brief  explication  of 
the  principal  Prophecies  of  Daniel  and  John,  as  they  regard 
the  Church  of  Grod  •"  to  which  was  added  "  An  Appendix, 
containing  an  inquiry  into  the  propriety  of  using  an  Evangel- 
ical Psalmody,  in  the  worship  of  God."  Of  this  work,  though 
we  have  read  it  with  great  satisfaction,  we  prefer  to  let  Dr. 
Magill  speak  :  "  Here,  at  the  age  of  eighty -six,  when  retired 
from  pastoral  life  to  a  quietude  and  seclusion  from  the  world, 
which  would  have  relaxed  to  second  childhood  many  another 
man  of  sixty  years,  we  have  a  display  of  power  to  observe,  and 
generalize,  and  investigate  profoundly,  which  very  few,  in  the 
vigor  of  their  prime  can  ever  attain.  Volumes  of  useful 
information  are  compressed  in  a  duodecimo,  of  some  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  pages.  Faber,  Newton,  Croly,  Scott,  Keith, 
&c,  dissected  with  a  master's  hand ;  their  merits  indicated, 
and  their  defects  ascertained,  with  a  brevity  and  fidelity  which 
compel  our  admiration.  Indeed,  the  student  of  philosophy 
can  scarcely  find   a  better   history  of  criticism  on  this  great 

*Dr.  Magill,  in  his  beautiful  obituary  of  Dr.  Ralston,  speaking  of  this 
work  on  baptism,  says  :  "  When  Campbellisin  began  to  agitate  the  country, 
and  the  founder  of  the  sect  was  glorying  in  his  victory  over  Walker  and 
others,  whom  he  encountered  in  oral  debate,  Dr.  Ralston  published  a  book 
on  baptism,  comprising  a  review  of  the  debate  with  Mr.  Walker,  and  letters 
in  roply  to  an  attack  of  Mr.  Campbell  on  this  Review.  This  little  work  is 
one  of  remarkable  force  and  erudition.  No  subsequent  debate  with  Camp- 
bell, however  triumphant  and  deservedly  popular,  has  evinced  greater  skill 
or  cogency  in  exposing  his  protean  sophistry.  Whatever  diversity  of  opinion 
may  exist  among  us  respecting  some  positions  taken  by  the  author,  all  must 
concede  that  in  originality  and  power,  this  book  is  one  of  surpassing  merit." 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  DR.    RALSTON.  219 

subject,  with  any  volume  of  moderate  size.  And  as  a  key  of 
interpretation,  it  is  precisely  such  as  was  inevitable  to  a  gigan- 
tic mind  laboring  without  a  library.  Connected  with  this 
publication,  and  bound  up  in  the  same  volume,  is  a  pungent 
examination  of  a  Mr.  Reid's  book,  entitled  "  The  Seven  Last 
Plagues."  The  sixth  vial  of  this  book  is  poured  out  on  all 
Christendom,  excepting  the  sect  to  which  the  author  belongs, 
with  special  aim  to  overwhelm  the  churches  in  which  Christ 
is  sung  expressly,  as  having  already  come  in  the  person  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  His  strictures  on  Mr.  Reid  brought  Dr. 
Ralston  into  the  Psalmody  controversy,  and  occasioned  the 
next  and  last  publication  from  his  pen,  "  A  Defence  of 
Evangelical  Psalmody."  Manly  discussion,  inflexible  deter- 
mination to  keep  his  antagonist  to  the  true  point  at  issue, 
and  a  calm  dignity  of  manner,  which  no  misrepresentation 
or  abuse  could  disturb,  eminently  characterize  this  last  effort 
of  his  life  to  be  useful  through  the  press.  It  was  made  in 
the  eightjr-eighth  year  of  his  life.  The  whole  history  of 
modern  polemics  cannot  produce  a  parallel  instance,  perhaps, 
of  such  fresh  activity,  quick  perception,  spirited  reply,  and 
powerful  concentration,  beyond  the  limits  of  four-score  years. 
We  heartily  unite  in  this  testimony.  Though  there  are  por- 
tions of  this  work  that  we  think  Dr.  Ralston  would  not  have 
written  in  the  full  vigor  of  his  intellectual  powers,  there  are 
other  parts  that  we  regard  as  admirable.  Nothing  that  has 
been  written,  on  this  rather  unprofitable  controversy,  is  more 
to  the  point,  in  our  judgment,  than  Dr.  Ralston's  "  No.  V., 
containing  Scriptural  precedents  for  an  Evangelical  Psalmody." 
The  part  of  the  volume  which  we  regard  as  least  interest- 
ing, and  most  assailable,  is  what  he  says  about  "  Human 
Inventions,"  and  "  Human  Composure."  The  writer,  we 
think,  is  betrayed  into  a  species  of  logomachy,  of  little 
importance  to  the  issue  of  the  case. 

This  last  work  of  Dr.  Ralston  was  well  received  and  exten- 
sively circulated.     It  was  perhaps  more  generally  read  than 


220  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

any  thing  which  he  had  previously  written.  But  his  pilgrim- 
age on  earth  was  drawing  to  a  close.  He  had,  in  1836,  given 
up  the  charge  of  Williamsport  church ;  a  few  years  after  he 
resigned  also  that  of  Mingo.  In  his  quiet  residence  on  his 
farm,  he  waited  with  patience  the  coming  of  his  master.  He 
continued  till  near  his  last  days  to  attend  the  services  of  God's 
house — though  increasing  deafness  must  have  greatly  dimin- 
ished his  enjoyment  in  the  sanctuary.  He  generally  attended 
the  Prcsbyterial  and  Synodical  meetings  of  his  brethren. 
But  he  had  witnessed  the  successive  departure  from  this  life 
of  all  his  first  fellow-laborers  in  the  gospel  ministry.  In 
1832,  he  had  been  called  to  preach  a  discourse  at  Chartiers, 
in  reference  to  the  death  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  his  earliest  and 
most  intimate  Western  friend.*  But  his  own  sojourn  was 
protracted  far  beyond  the  usual  limit  of  human  life.  For  not 
till  September  25,  1851,  did  he  receive  his  dismission.  Then, 
in  the  bosom  of  his  family,  in  great  quietness  and  peace,  he 
gently  sunk  into  the  arms  of  death,  and  fell  asleep  in  Jesus. 
We  cannot  better  close  this  memoir,  than  by  giving  the 
concluding  part  of  Dr.  Magill's  obituary  notice  of  this  aged 
servant  of  God  :  "It  was  a  matter  of  regret  to  this  vene- 
rable father,  as  he  once  said  to  the  writer,  with  manifest  emo- 
tion, that  nearly  all  his  writings  were  controversial ;  that  he 
had  been  a  man  of  war  from  his  youth.  It  had  been  his  duty. 
It  was  not  his  natural  disposition  :  his  temper  was  peculiarly 
bland,  and  genial  and  courteous.  As  a  remarkable  illustra- 
tion of  his  pacific  turn,  as  well  as  honorable  and  delicate  sen- 
sibility, his  successors  in  the  pastoral  charge  always  loved 
him,  more  than  feared ;  and  always  found  him  scrupulously 


*No  one  can  read  that  diseourso  without  feeling  a  deeper  sentiment  of 
veneration  and  respect  for  the  character  of  Dr.  M'Millan.  It  will  also, 
perhaps,  exalt  the  talents  and  piety  of  Dr.  Ralston  more  than  anything  he 
has  over  written,  while  it  cannot  fail  to  throw  a  new  interest  upon  the  past 
and  future  of  Jefferson  College.  It  deserves  to  be  read  "  twice  through 
without  stopping." — J.  S. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP   DR.    RALSTON.  221 

careful  to  hold  up  their  hands,  and  strengthen  them  in  the 
respect  and  affections  of  their  people.  It  is  rather  a  sad  com- 
mentary on  the  frailties  of  retiring  ministers,  that  we  must 
hold  up  this  trait  of  Dr.  Ralston  as  anywise  remarkable  and 
singular.  It  is  true,  we  have  other  beautiful  illustrations  of 
such  magnanimity  among  us  ;  but  it  is  to  be  lamented  greatly 
that  some  men  contrive,  without  exactly  designing  it,  to 
embroil  the  people  they  can  no  longer  feed,  and  take  a  per- 
verse care  that  no  one  succeed  to  the  confidence  and  love  in 
which  they  were  once  embosomed.  This  noble  patriarch  in 
our  Zion  lived  only  to  cheer  and  bless  the  young  brethren 
who  followed  him,  in  one  branch  of  his  charge,  twenty  years, 
and  in  the  other  fifteen  years,  after  his  retirement.  '  He 
loved  peace,'  writes  the  pastor  of  Mingo  Church,  where  Dr. 
Ralston  continued  to  reside  and  worship,  'and  the  business 
of  peace-making  was  his  great  delight.*  And  all  his  influ- 
ence went  to  establish  the  pastor  in  the  affections  of  the  peo- 
ple. There  was  much  that  was  truly  generous  and  kind 
in  the  elements  of  his  soul.  His  friendship  was  ardent  and 
constant.'  As  a  preacher,  he  was  eminently  didactic  and  dis- 
tinctive ;  clear,  copious  and  profound  in  the  exposition  and 
defence  of  saving  truth.  And  yet,  like  every  man  of  truly 
gifted  mind,  he  was  full  of  strong  emotion ;  which  led  him 
to  earnest  and  strong  appeals  of  a  practical  kind.  Perhaps 
his  manner  of  treating  subjects  had  too  much  of  a  contro- 
versial air  :  but  with  him  there  was  no  bitterness  of  spirit. 
He  was  the  very  opposite  of  that  modern  picture  of  Christian 


*When  asked  once  in  Presbytery  for  his  session-book,  he  replied,  "Wo 
have  had  nothing  to  record."  "Do  you  never  have  any  judicial  proceed- 
ings ?"  was  asked.  "  We  never  had  but  one  case,  and  that  many  years 
ago ;  and  I  was  determined  then  that  we  would  never  have  another.  We 
get  such  matters  settled  without  a  judicial  process !"  And  yet  he  did  not 
neglect  discipline. — J.  S. 

19* 


222  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

love  which  hates  nothing  so  much  as  honesty  and  earnest- 
ness, in  maintaining  one's  own  conviction  of  truth  and  duty. 
What  he  stoutly  claimed  for  himself,  he  heartily  granted  to 
others.  He  was  therefore  truly  catholic  in  his  feelings,  and 
utterly  remote  from  bigotry  and  rancor.  He  loved  with  broad 
and  deep  affection  all  that  differed  from  him;  just  in  pro- 
portion to  the  enlightened  zeal  with  which  he  vindicated  the 
distinctive  tenets  of  his  own  profession.  As  an  ecclesiastic, 
he  was  ever  distinguished  for  punctuality  and  faithfulness 
in  attending  church  courts.  Always  attentive  and  interested 
in  the  business  of  a  judicatory,  he  acquired  such  a  ready 
apprehension  of  matters  usually  transacted  there,  that  even 
when  lie  ceased  to  hear  the  ordinary  tones  of  speech  on  the 
floor,  he  could  discern  what  many  others  who  had  ears  to  hear, 
failed  to  perceive ;  and  mingle  the  expressions  of  his  own 
opinion  with  a  pertinence  which  often  excited  the  wonder  of 
his  juniors.  Indeed,  until  he  was  over  ninety  years  old,  and 
his  infirmities  absolutely  hindered  him  from  travel,  he  was 
among  the  most  regular,  useful  members  of  the  Presbytery 
and  the  Synod.  He  possessed  pre-eminently  that  triple  ele- 
ment of  Christian  courage,  which  the  Apostle  describes  as 
'  the  spirit  of  power  and  of  love  and  of  a  sound  mind.'  Ar- 
dent as  were  his  feelings,  constitutional!}',  and  ready  as  they 
were  to  be  zealously  affected  in  every  good  thing,  (as  in  the 
great  revival,  where  bodily  affections  were  strangely  intermin- 
gled,) he  was  exceedingly  discreet  and  sober,  and  well  bal- 
anced in  his  estimation  of  a  popular  rage  or  fanatical  excite- 
ment. Long  before  the  General  Assembly  was  brought  to 
rebuke  the  technical  Abolitionism  of  the  day,  and  before  the 
Princeton  Review,  or  any  other  conservative  journal,  spoke 
out  on  the  subject,  Dr.  Ralston  was  well  known  to  inculcate 
the  very  same  principles  of  scriptural  truth  aiid  practical  wis- 
dom that  now  govern,  with  almost  universal  consent,  our 
favored  Church  on  the  agitated  subject  of  slavery.     Resem- 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   DR.    RALSTON.  223 

bling  these  solid  attributes  of  his  understanding,  was  the  type 
of  his  personal  piety.  It  was  remarkably  free  from  irregular 
impulse  and  distressing  variation.  Tender  and  humble,  and 
self-abasing,  it  was  yet  almost  uniformly  serene  and  cheerful. 
Few  men  exhibited  a  more  delicate  and  lively  appreciation  of 
God's  favor,  in  the  smallest  mercies  of  his  Providence  or 
grace.  Gratitude,  then,  fiducial  gratitude,  which  will,  under 
any  circumstances,  '  thank  God  and  take  courage,'  which  so 
beautifully  distinguished  the  piety  of  David,  and  with  which 
he  ever  imbues  even  the  saddest  song — '  Because  thou  hast 
been  my  help,  therefore  in  the  shadow  of  thy  wings  will  I 
rejoice' — was  the  prevailing  characteristic  of  Dr.  Ralston's 
personal  piety.  Upon  this  beautiful  adornment  of  a  calm 
and  thankful  spirit,  he  wore  the  gem  of  consistency,  which 
no  man  could  ever  impeach.  Temptation  to  swerve  was 
not  only  repelled  by  the  dignity  of  his  peculiar  character,  but 
far  more  was  vanquished  by  a  conscientiousness,  which  a  fitful 
and  variable  experience  of  personal  religion  lamentably  wants. 
His  powerful  mind,  active,  unclouded  and  strong,  till  the 
very  last,  grappled  with  the  last  enemy,  death,  as  it  had  been 
wont  to  do  with  sin  and  error,  for  almost  a  century  of  time. 
He  was  cheerful  and  happy  in  the  prospect,  girded  and  roused, 
yet  tranquil,  and  even  sublime,  in  the  near  approach.  On  the 
day  of  his  death,  he  looked  out  once  more  on  the  visible  mili- 
tant Church,  that  he  had  loved  so  much,  and  watched  with  so 
great  solicitude — reading  with  fresh  interest  a  late  number  of 
the  Presbyterian.  Then  as  the  struggle  came  on,  he  calmly 
felt  his  own  pulse,  found  it  sinking  away,  and  exclaimed, 
without  faltering  or  agitation  :  '  I  am  ready  ;  I  am  a  sinner 
saved  by  grace.  Tell  my  brethren — tell  the  congregation 
that  I  die  in  the  faith  I  have  so  long  preached.  I  die  relying 
upon  the  meritorious  righteousness  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ : 
What  a  blessing  to  have  such  a  rock  !'  " 

The  congregation  of  Mingo  and  Monongahela  City  erected 


224  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

a  beautiful  marble  monument  over  his  grave,  in  the  Mingo 
creek  burying  ground,  with  the  following  inscription  : 

REV.    SAMUEL   RALSTON,  D.  D., 

BORN 

In   Ireland,  175  6. 

DIED 

September  25,   1851. 

He  was  educated  in  the  University  of  Glasgow,  Scotland. 
Emigrated  to  the  United  States,  A.  D.  1794. 

Ordained  pastor  of  the  United  Congregations  of  Mingo  Creek  and 
Monongahela  City,  1796.     On  this  field  he  sowed  the  good  seed 
of   the  word,  for  nearly  half  a  century.     Distinguished  as 
a   scholar,    a   profound   expositor   of    sacred   truth,    a 
faithful  watchman   on   the  walls   of  Zion,   and    a 
devoted  servant  of  God,  he  was  intimately  iden- 
tified with  the  advancement  of  literature, 
religion    and    religious   liberty,    in 
this  Western   country. 

"  And  he,  being  dead,  yet  gpeaketh." 
"  The  righteous  shall  be  in  everlasting  remembrance." 

The  following  discourse,  delivered  on  the  death  of  Dr. 
M'Millan,  contains  so  much  that  is  worthy  to  be  read,  that 
We  cannot  doubt  its  insertion  here  will  be  acceptable  to  many 
readers : 

A    FUNERAL    SERMON 

On  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  the   Rev.  John  M'Millan,   D.  D.,   late  of 
Ohartiers.     By  Samuel  Ralston. 

"  My  father,  my  father,  the  chariot  of  Israel,  and  the  horsemen  thereof." 

2  Kings,  2  :  12. 

These  words  are  the  strong  and  fervid  exclamation  of  the  prophet  Elisha, 
when  he  saw  his  spiritual  father  and  beloved  master  ascending  to  heaven  in 
a  chariot  of  tiro.  To  understand  the  full  import,  and  feel  the  force  of  these 
words,  it  will  be  necessary  to  recollect  that,  in  those  days,  the  principal 
strongth  of  a  nation  for  dofending  themselves,  and  repelling  their  enemies, 
consisted  in  their  chariots  of  war,  and  cavalry  or  horsemen.  From  the  days 
of  Abraham  to  the  coming  of  Christ,  the  visible  church,  the  usual  birthplace 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP   DR.    RALSTON.  225 

of  the  children  of  grace,  was  confined  to  the  descendants  of  that  patriarch, 
in  the  line  of  Isaac  and  Jacob  ;  who,  on  account  of  his  prevalency  with  God, 
by  prayer,  was  surnamed  Israel.  In  the  days  of  Elijah,  true  religion,  which 
consists  in  the  knowledge  and  sincere  worship  of  Jehovah,  the  truo  and  the 
living  God,  had  experienced  a  woeful  decline  in  the  Jewish  nation,  especially 
in  that  portion  of  it  comprehending  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  We  are  told  in 
the  19th  chapter  of  the  1st  Book  of  Kings,  that  in  all  that  kingdom  there 
were  only  seven  thousand  men,  with  the  prophet  Elijah,  who  had  not  bowed 
the  knee  to  Baal,  one  of  the  idol  gods  of  the  surrounding  idolatrous  nations. 
Elisha  was  doubtless  acquainted  with  this  woeful  degeneracy ;  and  it  was 
doubtless  this  circumstance,  with  other  mournful  considerations  hereafter  to 
be  mentioned,  that  constrained  him  to  exclaim,  when  his  beloved  master  was 
removed  from  him,  "  My  father,  my  father,  the  chariot  of  Israel,  and  the 
horsemen  thereof:"  It  was  as  if  ho  had  said,  "  what  will  become  of  the 
church  of  the  true  and  living  God,  when  thou,  my  father,  the  unbending 
advocate  of  the  truth  and  of  true  religion,  the  honest  preacher  of  righteous- 
ness, and  tho  undaunted  reprover  of  error  and  immorality,  even  in  kings, 
art  taken  from  us.  May  we  not  expect  still  more  degenerate  days,  unless 
Jehovah  will,  in  mercy,  raise  up  another,  or  others,  who  will  vindicate  the 
truth,  and  endeavor  to  put  a  stop  to  prevailing  error  and  irreligion  ?"  And 
the  King  and  Head  of  the  church  did  so,  in  the  person  of  the  mourning  and 
almost  distracted  Elisha  himself:  he  received  a  double  portion  of  his  mas- 
ter's spirit  Tho  doctrine  evidently  deducible  from  this  affecting  incident  is, 
that  tho  death  of  good  men,  though  to  them  unspeakable  gain,  is  a  most 
serious  public  loss,  to  both  Church  and  State,  but  especially  to  tho  church ; 
and  ought  to  be  deplored  and  improved  by  survivors,  by  being  followers  of 
them,  wherein  they  followed  Christ.  "  Be  not  slothful,"  saith  the  Apostle, 
"  but  followers  of  them,  who,  through  faith  and  patience,  inherit  the  prom- 
ises." Our  design,  then,  on  the  present  occasion,  is  to  show  in  what  respects 
the  death  of  good  men  is  a  public  loss,  especially  to  tho  church ;  with  a  spe- 
cial reference  to  the  loss  which  we  have  experienced  in  the  death  of  our 
father  and  friend,  the  late  Dr.  John  M'Millan,  whose  decease  we  are  assem- 
bled this  day  to  deplore. 

1st.  All  good  men  are  lovers  of  the  truth,  especially  of  the  truth  as  it  is 
in  Jesus.  They  love  it  not  only  for  its  own  sake,  but  because  they  know 
that  it  is  by  the  truth,  and  by  the  truth  only,  that  man,  immersed  by  sin  in 
thick  moral  darkness,  and  the  slave  of  vice,  can  be  led  to  see  his  danger, 
and  to  feel  his  deep  moral  maladies,  and  be  persuaded  to  accept  of  that  rem- 
edy which  God  has  provided  in  his  Son,  as  a  Redeemer  from  wrath  and 
from  sin,  and  who  is  able  and  willing  to  redeem  all  who  will  go  unto  him. 
Yes,  it  is  by  the  mournful  and  Scriptural  truth,  that  man  is  now  a  guilty, 
morally  defiled,  and  morally  helpless  creature,  that  he  can  be  convinced  of 
his  danger,  and  constrained  to  inquire,  "  what  he  shall  do  to  be  saved."     It 


226  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

is  also  by  the  gracious  and  glorious  truth,  that  God  so  loved  the  world,  guilty 
and  rebellious  and  wicked  as  it  is,  that  ho  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  on  him,  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life — 
that  the  awakened  sinner  is  preserved  from  sinking  into  despair,  and  from 
rushing  against  the  bosses  of  Jehovah's  bnckler,  and  to  cry,  "Lord,  save 
me,  I  perish  :**  and  who  never  suffered  any  to  perish  who  have  cried  to  him 
for  salvation  from  wrath  and  from  sin.  And  it  is  by  the  truth  that  there  is 
an  all-sufficiency  of  grace  in  Christ,  that  the  humble  and  honest  believer  is 
supported  and  sanctified.  "Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth  :  thy  word  is 
truth,"  is  one  of  the  last  and  gracious  prayers  that  Christ  offered  up  to  his 
Heavenly  Father  in  behalf  of  his  church  and  people.  Need  I  tell  a  single 
individual  present  how  distinguished  our  father  and  friend,  whose  decease 
we  are  met  to  deplore,  was  in  teaching  and  preaching  these  radical  truths 
and  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  religion  of  Jesus.  Many  of  you  remem- 
ber how  you  felt,  perhaps  trembled,  when  that  man  of  God,  for  the  purpose 
of  awakening  you  to  a  sense  of  your  danger,  and  showing  you  your  need 
of  the  Saviour,  portrayed  in  his  own  peculiarly  strong  but  scriptural  terms, 
the  indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish,  that  await  all  who  live 
and  die  without  an  interest  in  that  blood  that  was  shed  for  the  remission  of 
sins.  As  just  now  observed,  this  is  a  radical  principle  in  the  Christian  sys- 
tem, and  should  be  an  indispensable  element  in  every  sermon ;  and  in 
preaching  it,  our  departed  father  and  friend  exceeded  all  men  we  have  ever 
mot  with  or  heard  preach.  What  avails  it  that  a  preacher  unfolds  to  his 
audience  in  the  clearest  manner  the  character  and  officos  of  the  Saviour 
whom  God  has  provided,  if  at  the  same  time  he  neglects,  or  but  faintly  points 
out  the  wretchedness  and  danger  of  the  wicked,  or  of  the  thoughtless  and 
unbelieving  ?  They  are  not  morally  sick,  but  whole,  in  their  own  estimation. 
Therefore  all  that  can  be  told  them  of  the  wisdom  and  grace  of  the  plan  of 
redemption,  through  Christ,  is  in  the  nature  of  things  confined  to  the  intellect, 
but  can  never  pierce  the  conscience,  nor  affect  the  heart.  Not  so,  however, 
was  it  with  the  lato  pastor  of  this  congregation.  Knowing  the  terrors  of  the 
Lord,  and  knowing  also  that  Christ  came  into  the  world,  not  to  call  the 
righteous,  or  those  who  suppose  they  are  righteous,  but  sinners,  or  those  who 
feel  they  are  sinners,  to  repentance,  ho  spent  his  strength  and  life  endeavor- 
ing to  convince  them  that  thoy  were  morally  wretched  and  poor,  and  misera- 
ble, and  blind  and  naked ;  for  the  purpose  of  persuading  them  to  go  to 
Christ,  "  for  gold  tried  in  the  fire,  that  thoy  might  bo  enriched  ;  for  whito 
raiment,  that  they  might  be  clothed,  and  that  the  shame  of  their  nakedness 
might  not  appear;  and  to  anoint  their  eyes  with  eye  salve  of  his  grace,  that 
they  might  see" — seo  at  the  same  time  their  inveterate  disease  and  gracious 
remedy.  He  did  not  tell  you,  as,  alas !  somo  preachers  within  even  the  pale 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  tell  their  hearers,  that  conversion  is  an  easy 
work;  as  easy  as  to  rise  from  their  soats  and  walk  out  of  their  pews,  and 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  DE.  RALSTON.     227 

that  they  had  sufficient  ability  so  to  do ;  but  he  told  you,  from  the  word  of 
God,  that  you  were  without  strength — that  your  ability  and  strength  to  turn 
from  sin  to  holinoss,  was  to  be  found  in  Christ,  and  Christ  alone,  through 
the  agency  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  given  to  all  who  honestly  ask  that  gift  in  his 
name,  or  for  his  sake — that  to  obtain  this  strength  you  should  cry  unto  him; 
and  that  while  you  were  crying,  you  should  endeavor  to  cast  yourselves  upon 
him,  who  is  made  of  God,  to  all  who  do  so,  "wisdom  and  righteousnses  and 
sanctification  and  redemption."  He  never  told  you,  as  some  falsely  charge 
those  who  hold  that  salvation  is  altogether  of  grace,  as  telling  their  hearers 
to  wait  God's  own  time  to  convert  you ;  and  if  he  converted  you,  well  and 
good,  and  if  not,  you  were  not  to  blame ;  but  he  impressed  upon  you  in  the 
strongest  manner,  the  obligation  you  were  under  to  believe  that  record  which 
God  has  given  in  his  precious  Word,  respecting  his  Son,  that  in  him,  and  in 
him  alone,  there  is  lifo;  and  exhorted  you  while  you  acknowledged  and 
bewailed  your  deep  moral  imbecility  to  conceive  even  a  good  thought  to 
plead  his  precious  promises,  "  to  take  away  the  heart  of  stone  and  to  give 
you  an  heart  of  flesh,"  or  an  humble,  tender  and  believing  heart  to  put  his 
Spirit  within  you,  and  to  cause  you,  "  to  walk  in  his  statutes  and  keep  his 
judgments  and  do  them."  And  when  you  had  ground  to  hope,  that  God  had 
graciously  heard  your  cry,  you  remember  well,  wo  trust,  that  in  exhorting 
you  to  work  out  your  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,  he  told  you  that  it 
is  God  who  works  in  his  children  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure ; 
and  directed  you  at  the  same  time  to  look  unto  and  to  depend  on  his  all- 
sufficient  grace. 

And  here  let  me  further  call  up  to  your  remembrance  the  glowing  fervor 
with  which  he  held  up  to  your  view  the  blessed  Jesus,  as  the  only  city  of 
refuge,  where  the  sword  of  inflexible  justice  can  neither  reach  nor  punish. 
Do  not  many  of  you  remember  how  your  hearts  burned  within  you,  when 
he  exhibited  him  in  all  his  transcendent  loveliness,  as  God-man-Mediator, 
the  Brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his  person, 
and  in  whom  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  substantially  dwells  ?  And 
when  he  depicted  the  love  of  Jesus  in  ctying,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  and 
receiving  the  sword  of  inflexible  justice  into  his  own  spotless  bosom,  to  pre- 
vent its  being  sheathed  in  your  guilty  hearts,  did  not  your  trembling, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  exulting  souls,  exclaim  with  the  Apostle,  "It  is  a 
faithful  saying,  or  a  saying  worthy  of  all  credit,  and  worthy  of  all  accepta- 
tion, that  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners,  even  the  chiefest  of 
them  ?"  And  have  you  not  felt  a  willingness  to  be  saved  by  this  Jesus ;  to 
be  washed  in  his  blood  from  all  your  guilt,  to  be  clothed  upon  with  the  spot- 
less robe  of  his  righteousness,  to  be  sanctified  by  his  Spirit,  to  be  governed 
by  his  Word,  and  to  be  guided  by  his  wisdom?  With  the  Apostle  Paul,  this 
"  Christ  and  him  crucified"  was  the  constant,  and  to  himself,  the  delightful 
theme  of  all  our  departed  father's  ministrations ;  because  he  knew,  from  his 
own  experience,  and  we  trust  that  a  number  of  you  know  from  your  expe- 


228  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

rienco  also,  that  this  thomo,  and  this  themo  alone,  is,  in  the  hand  of  the 
Divine  Spirit,  tho  power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God  to  the  sah  alien  of 
sinners.  Hoir  jejune  and  empty  and  profitless  are  the  ahstruso  speculations 
and  metaphysical  disquisitions  of  many  of  our  published  Bermons  in  the 

present  day,  when  compared  with  this  apostolical  theme,  which  ran  and 
shone  like  a  golden  thread,  in  all  tho  pulpit  exhibitions  of  our  departed 
father  and  friend,  as  all  who  have  ever  hoard  him  can  testify.  The  one  is 
what  tho  Apostle  calls  "  philosophy  falsely  so  callod :"  the  other  is  tho  true 
philosophy  sent  down  from  Heaven,  recorded  in  God's  own  hook,  and  embo- 
died in  this  heavenly  theme,  for  the  purpose  of  saving  perishing  sinners. 
Tho  one  is  called  by  the  ApostJo  James,  "  tho  wisdom  that  is  earthly,  sensual, 
and  devilish;"  or  of  human  invention;  calculated  to  ploaso  the  blinded 
mind  and  depraved  heart  of  man  ;  and  tho  invention  of  the  father  of  lies 
and  of  error.  But  tho  other  came  down  "from  above,"  and  "  is  pure,  peace- 
able, gentle,  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercies  and  good  fruits,  without 
partiality  and  without  hypocrisy."  And  yet  it  was  not  merely  to  instruct 
tho  ignorant  in  tho  knowledge  of  tho  plan  of  redemption,  through  a  crucified 
Christ,  that  he  dwolt  so  much  and  so  often  on  this,  to  him,  delightful  theme. 
Ho  hatl  another  highly  important  object  in  view,  to  bring  it  to  operate  with 
its  designed  power  and  sanctifying  influenco  on  tho  heart.  He  knew  he 
taught  that  man  was  at  the  same  time  a  guilty  and  morally  defiled  creature, 
and  that  "without  holiness  no  man  can  see  tho  Lord."  And  he  knew  that 
nothing  but  the  doctrines  of  the  cross  are  in  themselves  calculated,  and  by 
God  blessed,  to  subdue  the  proud  heart  of  man  to  the  obedience  of  faith, 
and  to  produce  that  repentance  unto  life,  not  to  be  repontcd  of.  Hence, 
then,  as  you  enn  all  testify,  he  inculcated,  more  or  less,  in  every  sermon,  the 
indispensable  necessity  of  experimental  religion;  or,  as  Christ  expressed  it, 
in  his  conference  with  Nicodemus,  that  unless  a  man  is  born  again,  or  from 
above,  ho  cannot  seo,  he  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  glory  hereafter.  And 
in  this,  as  well  as  for  awakening  tho  careless,  thoughtless  sinner  to  a  sense 
of  his  danger,  his  sermons  equaled,  if  not  exceeded  any  I  have  ever  read  or 
heard  on  these  subjects.  You  all  remember  how  particular,  close,  clear, 
pungent  and  various  were  the  questions  for  self-examination  which  he  pressod 
upon  you  in  every  sermon  on  this  highly  important  point.  And  here  I  would 
remark  what  I  think  many  of  you  must  have  remarked,  that  scarcely  a  head 
of  his  discourses  was  dismissed  without  a  particular  application  of  the  doc- 
trine contained  in  that  head  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  his  hearers. 
In  this  ho  had  a  peculiar  talent  and  happy  facility — that  while  the  under- 
standing of  tho  hearer  was  admiring  the  wisdom,  the  mercy  and  the  grace 
of  God,  in  devising  and  executing  the  plan  of  redemption  through  a  cruci- 
fied Christ,  ho  was  constrained  to  ask  himself,  "am  I  in  Christ  and  inter- 
ested in  this  gracious  and  glorious  plan  ?  or  am  I  yet  in  my  sins ;  in  the  gall 
of  bitterness  and  in  the  bonds  of  iniquity  ?"  Under  tho  divine  blessing  this, 
to  myself,  has,  in  a  great  measure,  accounted  for  his  great  suceetn  in  winning 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OP  DR.  RALSTON.     229 

souls  to  Christ ;  for  it  is  God's  plan  of  redemption,  and  the  way  he  requires 
that  plan  to  bo  exhibited  to  sinners,  that  God  blesses  and  ever  will  bless. 
And  yet  there  is  another  and  very  important  part  of  ministerial  duty;  in 
the  discharge  of  which  I  have  often  admired  the  tact  and  talent  of  our 
departed  father  and  friend,  as  much  as  in  these  which  I  have  mentioned. 
This,  in  theological  language,  is  termed  casuistry  ;  and  consists  in  pointing 
out  the  specific  difference  between  real  and  counterfeit  graces,  if  graces  the 
latter  may  be  called,  and  also  in  pouring  the  balm  of  divine  consolation  into 
the  perplexed  and  distressed  heart.  Experimentally  acquainted  himself 
with  the  devices  of  Satan,  and  with  the  influence  which  remaining  corrup- 
tion, in  the  hearts  of  God's  people,  has,  in  weakening  their  faith,  lessening 
their  love,  and  repressing  their  hope,  he  unraveled  with  a  skillful  hand  all 
the  snares  and  stratagems  of  the  wicked  one  ;  held  out  in  such  captivating 
colors  the  many  precious  promises  of  needed  grace,  to  all  Christ's  humble 
but  fainting  followers,  as  dispelled  their  doubts,  strengthened  their  faith, 
expanded  their  love,  and  reanimated  their  hope,  and  disposed  them  to  forgot 
the  tilings  that  are  behind,  to  roach  forth  to  those  that  are  beforo,  and  in 
borrowed  strength  to  press  forward  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high 
calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  the  Lord.  Frequently  have  I  observed,  under 
his  preaching,  many  of  the  children  of  God  hanging  their  hoads  like  a  bul- 
rush ;  and  if  they  lifted  up  their  faces,  they  were  covered  with  clouds  and 
mental  distress  :  but  no  sooner  did  he  address  himself  to  this  delightful  part 
of  his  public  ministrations — no  sooner  did  he  begin  to  exhibit  the  grace  of 
Christ  in  its  exuberant  riches,  unbounded  fullness,  and  unlimited  freeness, 
than  the  accumulated  clouds  began  to  scatter  before  the  rays  of  the  sun  of 
righteousness  arising  upon  them  with  healing  in  his  wings;  and  I  thought  I 
saw  the  resolution  of  Paul,  when  in  similar  circumstances,  written  on  their 
countenances  :  "  I  will  glory  in  my  infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ  may 
rest  upon  me."  Such  was  our  departed  father,  as  a  man  of  God  and  minis- 
ter of  Christ,  in  handling  the  word  of  God,  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  cor- 
rection, and  instruction  in  righteousness.  And  now,  when  we  consider  his 
soundness  in  the  faith,  and  well-earned  influence  in  this  part  of  our  Western 
Israel,  on  the  church,  when  we  consider  that  the  enemy  of  truth  and  of 
righteousness  is  pouring  a  flood  of  error  into  our  church,  with  a  new  set  of 
means  of  grace,  or  "measures,"  as  they  call  them,  suited  to  these  errors; 
and  although  we  have  reason  to  bless  God  that  there  are  more  than  seven 
thousand  men  who  have  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal,  or  adopted  those  errors 
with  their  corresponding  measures,  yet  when  we  consider  how  great  the  loss 
of  such  a  man  is  at  such  a  period,  have  we  not  considerable  reason  to 
bewail  it  in  the  language  of  our  text,  and  say,  "  Our  father,  our  father,  the 
chariot  of  Israel,  and  the  horsemen  thereof?" 

2d.  There  is  another  point  of  light  in  which  our  departed  father  should 
be  viewed,  both  to  do  full  justice  to  his  character,  and  that  it  may  be  profit- 

20 


230  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

able  for  our  imitation.  All  good  men,  as  good  men,  aro  necessarily  possessed 
of  a  spirit  of  philanthropy,  or  a  desire  to  do  good  unto  others.  And  where 
they  have  been  blessed  with  a  liberal  education,  there  is  nothing  which  thoy 
desire  moro  than  to  communicate  its  advantages  to  others.  They  know  well 
that  civil  liberty,  although  obtained  at  a  large  oxpense  of  treasure  and  of 
blood,  as  was  our  own,  can  noverbo  stable,  norporpetuated,  but  by  the  diffu- 
sion of  useful  knowlodgo  among  the  people.  Henco,  then,  they  have  over 
been  the  supporters  of  schools  and  colleges,  while  demagogues  and  disor- 
ganizes discourage  them,  as  far  as  they  can  do  so,  with  safety  to  their  own 
interests.  Good  men  also  know  that  as  knowledge  is  indispensably  necessary 
for  the  health  and  prosperity  of  the  State,  it  is  still  more  so  for  the  health 
and  welfare  of  the  Church ;  while  literature  is  cried  down  by  errorists  and 
heretics,  that  have,  in  every  ago,  marred  the  beauty  of  the  daughter  of  Zion. 
Now  there  are  names  enrolled  in  the  different  Encyclopedias,  as  benefactors 
of  mankind,  and  patrons  of  useful  arts  and  sciences,  who,  in  their  sphere, 
have  not  done  as  much  for  the  support  of  useful  literature  as  our  lamented 
father  has  done.  When  ho  first  came  to  this  country,  it  was  an  awful  moral 
waste.  The  country  was  filling  up  rapidly,  and  the  settlements  extending 
on  every  side.  But  himself  and  two  others  excepted,  there  were  none  to 
preach  the  everlasting  gospel  to  them — the  only  means  of  salvation,  and  the 
only  effectual  barrier  against  tho  prevalency  of  vice  and  immorality.  Well 
knowing  that  an  ignorant  ministry  is  as  apt  to  do  as  much  evil  as  good :  "for 
if  the  blind  load  tho  blind  they  must  both  fall  into  the  ditch" — he  did  all 
that  could  bo  done.  He  built  a  small  log  house  near  his  own  ;  and  as  few 
men  were  better  judges  of  others  than  he  was,  he  there  collected  such  men 
as  Porter,  Marquis,  and  M'Cready,  whom  some  of  you  knew;  and  gratui- 
tously instructed  them  so  as  to  be  usefnl  in  tho  ministry.  And  few  were 
more  useful  in  their  day.  And  that  little  log  academy  was  the  germ  of  all 
the  Academies  and  Colleges  that  adorn  and  fructify  our  country  at  present 
with  the  streams  of  science  and  useful  literature.  When  the  increasing 
demands  of  the  church  required  an  enlargement  of  this  useful  little  academy, 
it  was  transferred  to  Canonsburg,  then  a  young  and  rising  village.*     Through 

*  It  appears  that  Dr.  Ralston,  in  several  particulars,  has  given  an  account  respect- 
ing the  Log-Cabin  School,  and  its  transfer  to  Canonsburg,  in  harmony  with  the  current 
popular  traditions  about  the  whole  matter.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Dr.  Ralston 
came  out  to  Western  Pennsylvania  in  1795,  and  could  not  have  known  personally 
anything  about  tho  movements  of  Messrs.  Dodd  and  Smith,  ten  or  twelve  years  before 
that  time.  It  will  not  be  forgotten  also  that  ho  was  not  personally  cognizant  of  what 
transpired  in  1790  and  1791.  The  statements  of  Messrs.  Robert  Patterson  and  Darby, 
and  the  language  of  Dr.  M'Millan  himself,  as  quoted  in  "Old  Redstone"  and  in  the 
"  History  of  Jefferson  College,"  aro  slightly  at  variance  with  some  of  the  above  state- 
ments of  Dr.  Ralston.  But  we  do  not  regard  these  statements  as  essentially  dero- 
gating, in  the  least  degree,  from  the  just  claims  of  honor  and  praise  here  given  to  Dr 
M'Millan.— J.  S. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   DR.    RALSTON.  231 

the  influence  of  our  lamented  father,  a  house  was  erected  suitable  to  the 
existing  demands,  teachers  provided,  among  whom  was  the  late  amiable, 
modest,  scientific,  pious  and  lamented  Professor  Miller,  and  a  charter  of 
incorporation  obtained  from  the  Legislature  of  the  State.  I  had  then  the 
honor  of  becoming  connected  with  it  as  a  Trustee ;  and  well  do  I  remember 
the  difficulties  with  which  we  had  to  struggle  in  keeping  it  in  operation. 
The  greatest  number  of  students  were  pious  but  not  wealthy  young  men, 
and  consequently  unable  to  contribute  that  remuneration  for  their  tuition 
that  was  necessary  for  the  support  of  the  professors.  And  here  I  should  not 
omit  to  mention  what  may  not  be  known  to  many  here,  or  to  the  public  at 
large,  but  is  known  to  myself,  and  some  who  hear  me,  that  our  lamented 
father,  whose  liberality  and  philanthropy  knew  no  bounds,  when  the  inter- 
ests of  literature  and  of  the  church  were  concerned,  for  many  years  gave 
ten  pounds  yearly,  out  of  a  salary  of  one  hundred  pounds,  Pennsylvania 
currency,  for  the  support  of  the  Academy.  And  there  is  no  doubt  but  that 
he  considered  himself  more  than  repaid,  from  the  consideration  and  fact  that 
in  that  Academy  were  taught  most,  if  not  all,  those  who  have  planted  the 
churches  beyond  the  Allegheny  and  Ohio  rivers.  In  process  of  time,  from 
causes  not  necessary  to  mention  here,  that  Academy,  then  changed  into  a 
College  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  suffered  not  only  a  great  depression, 
but  its  very  existence  was  jeopardized.  Although  I  knew  that  it  had  been 
a  child  of  prayer,  and  although  I  knew  that  many  a  fervent  prayer  for  its 
success  and  stability  were  sent  up  daily  from  the  family  altars  of  the  faith- 
ful around,  yet  I  confess  that  my  own  faith  for  its  continued  existence  failed  ; 
and  I  once  thought  that  I  saw  it  draw  its  last  gasp.  But  not  so  was  it  with 
the  faith  of  our  deceased  father.  It  was  like  that  of  Abraham  when  required 
to  sacrifice  his  beloved  son,  Isaac,  unflinching  and  unfailing;  and  he,  like 
that  distinguished  Patriarch,  "  hoped  even  against  hope."  To  continue  its 
existence,  a  new  and  extensive  College  must  be  erected;  and  there  was  not 
a  dollar  in  the  treasury  of  the  Trustees.  At  the  suggestion  of  our  father, 
a  statement  of  our  wants  and  an  appeal  was  made  to  a  generous  public.  It 
was  not  made  in  vain ;  and  such  generous  donations  flowed  into  our  treasury 
from  all  quarters,  as  justified  the  Trustees  to  commence  building  a  second 
College  edifice.  And  I  need  scarcely  say  that  the  extensive  influence  of 
our  father,  and  the  veneration  in  which  he  was  held  abroad,  had  no  small 
influence  in  procuring  those  donations.  The  foundation  of  the  second  build- 
ing was  laid  deep  and  solid  by  our  doceased  father,  by  a  fervent  prayer  of 
faith,  and  which,  like  every  prayer  of  faith,  is  enrolled  in  the  Archives  of 
Heaven.  Should  Jefferson  College,  in  the  lapse  of  time,  be  brought  to  the 
same  state  of  depression  in  which  we  have  seen  it,  I  think  that  there  is 
neither  fanaticism  nor  presumption  in  believing  and  saying,  that  the  preva- 
lency  of  that  heaven-recorded  prayer  will  prove  the  means  of  its  resuscitation. 
The  public  donations  for  the  erection  of  the  second  College  edifice,  though 
generous  boyond  expectation,  were  not  sufficient  to  complete  it,  on  account 


232  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

of  its  size  and  extensivencss;  and  a  second  appeal  to  the  public  was  not 
judged  prudent  or  expedient.  In  tins  dilemma,  the  public  spirit  and  gene- 
rosity of  our  venerated  father,  with  that  of  the  late  Craig  liitchie,  Esq.,  of 
Canonsburg,  were  brought  into  action  and  came  to  our  aid.  Each  of  them 
advanced  some  hundreds  of  dollars ;  nor  were  their  purses  shut  until  the 
building  was  completed,  and  fitted  for  the  reception  of  the  students.  And 
not  only  so,  but  both  of  them  spent  a  considerable  portion  of  their  time  in 
providing  materials  and  superintending  the  work  during  its  progress.  These 
acts  of  generosity  and  public  spirit  are,  perhaps,  not  known  to  many  here; 
but  are  known  to  myself  and  to  the  Trustees  of  the  College,  some  of  whom 
are  now  under  my  eye.  True,  they  were  repaid  the  money  which  they 
advanced,  after  some  years,  out  of  a  donation  given  to  the  College  by  the 
Legislature  of  the  State ;  but  it  is  as  truo  that  the  prospect  of  their  being  repaid, 
when  they  advanced  the  money,  was  very  doubtful.  For  the  Legislature 
were  not  in  the  giving  mood  to  colleges  at  that  time,  nor  for  some  years  after. 
We  have  already  observed  that  the  Prophets  of  old  were  preachers  of 
truth  and  righteousness,  as  well  as  predictors  of  future  events.  We  are  told 
that -there  were  schools  of  the  prophets  in  the  days  of  the  prophet  Samuel, 
where  the  principles  of  the  truo  religion  wore  taught.  We  are  also  told  that 
there  were  sons  of  the  prophets,  in  the  days  of  Elijah,  and  it  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  there  were  schools  where  they  were  taught;  and  that  Elijah  was 
a  distinguished  patron  and  supporter  of  those  schools ;  and  we  think  it  a 
rational  and  fair  inference  that  a  consideration  of  the  loss  which  those 
schools  would  sustain,  by  the  removal  of  Elijah  to  Heaven,  entered  into  and 
formed  a  principal  element  of  Elisha's  exclamation,  "  My  father,  my  father, 
the  chariot  of  Israel,  and  the  horsemen  thereof!"  And  now,  when  we  reflect 
upon  the  many  hundreds  of  men  who  have  been  educated  in  Jefferson  Col- 
lege— that  many  of  them  have  filled,  and  are  now  filling  respectable  and 
useful  stations  in  the  departments  of  law  and  medicine — when  we  also  reflect 
upon  the  numbers  who  have  gone  forth  from  it,  as  preachers  of  Christ  and 
of  righteousness ;  (some  of  whom  are  respectable  presidents  of  other  col- 
leges, and  some  are  gone  as  missionaries  of  the  cross,  to  announce  pardon 
and  peace  through  a  crucified  Christ — that  delightful  theme  of  our  lamented 
father's  ministrations — to  those  who  aro  lying  in  the  thickest  shades  of  mental 
and  moral  darkness  in  Africa,  in  Hindostan,  and  in  our  own  land,) — and 
when  we  reflect  that  our  departed  father  was  its  sole  founder,  that  he  watched 
over  its  interests  with  paternal  caro  for  half  a  century — that  he  spent  much 
of  his  precious  time  in  promoting  its  intorosts — and  that  his  purse  was  always 
open  for  the  supply  of  its  manifold  wants — that  next  to  the  Church  of  Christ, 
it  was  the  dearest  object  of  his  solicitudo  and  supplications  at  a  throno  of 
grace — as  I  know  from  many  conversations  with  him  on  the  subject;  and 
that  the  primary  design  of  erecting  Jefferson  College,  was  to  train  young 
mon  for  the  gospel  ministry — when,  I  say,  wo  reflect  upon  these  things, 
would  it  bo  a  perversion  of  our  text  to  substitute  Jefi'orson  College  for  Israol, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  DR.  RALSTON.     233 

and  say,  "  Our  father,  our  father,  the  chariot  of  Jefferson  College,  and  the 
horsemen  theroof."  I  risk  nothing,  nor  will  I  offend  a  single  individual  of 
my  brethren  in  the  ministry,  when  I  say  that,  for  soundness  in  the  faith,  for 
unwavering  love  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  for  opposition  to  the 
errors  and  innovations  that  have  crept  into  our  church- — for  an  ardent  love 
for  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  unwearied  labors  and  endeavors  in  the  support 
of  literature,  as  the  handmaid  of  true  religion,  our  father  has  not  left  a 
superior,  if  an  equal,  behind  him,  in  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  perhaps  in 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Oh !  when  shall  our 
church  be  blessed  with  another  Dr.  John  M'Millan  !  But  he  has  rested  from  his 
labors,  and  his  works  have  followed  him,  as  evidences  of  his  love  to  Christ, 
and  untiring  labors  amidst  infirmities  and  the  waste  of  old  age,  in  promoting 
the  interests  of  true  and  undented  religion.  And  now,  how  shall  we,  whom 
he  hath  left  behind,  in  this  land  of  sorrows  and  valley  of  tears,  profit  by 
this  afflicting  dispensation  of  Providence  ?  By  being  followers  of  him 
wherein  he  followed  Christ.  And  those  of  us  to  whom  the  ministration  of 
the  gospel  is  committed,  ought  to  improve  this  dispensation,  by  maintaining, 
like  him,  an  unwavering  love  of  the  truth,  as  embodied  in  the  standards  of 
our  church,  whatever  opposition  we  meet  with  in  so  doing;  or  whatever 
contempt  may  be  thrown  upon  us  by  those  who  have  swerved  from  the 
truth,  or  who  are  indifferent  to  the  true  interests  of  our  church.  Not  many 
months  ago,  in  this  place,  he  raised  his  warning  voice,  and  we  might  almost 
say  his  dying  voice,  to  the  watchmen  on  Zion's  walls,  directing  them  to  the 
enemy,  who  has  been  coming  in  like  a  flood,  and  pointing  out  their  duty  in 
opposing  that  enemy  of  Christ,  of  truth,  and  of  righteousness.  Let  us, 
then,  as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ,  set  our  faces  as  flints  against  this 
enemy;  and  in  reliance  on  the  Divine  Spirit,  endeavor  to  keep  the  standard 
of  Christ  floating  on  the  walls  of  our  Zion,  should  we  even  perish  in  the 
attempt.  Let  us  also,  like  him,  be  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season,  in 
preaching  Christ  and  him  crucified,  and  in  reproving,  rebuking  and  exhort- 
ing, with  all  long-suffering  and  doctrine :  and,  like  him,  we  will  obtain  a 
crown  of  life  ! 


20* 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 


REV.   MATTHEW   HENDERSON, 

First  Pastor  of  tho  Associate  congregation  of   Chartiers,  Washington 

county,  Pa.,  and  one  of  the  three  ministers  who  united  in  the 

ceremony  of  inaugurating  the  Canonshurg  Academy, 

in  1791,  under  the  Sassafras  bushes. 


[Abridged  from  the  "Evangelical  Repository."] 


The  Rev.  Matthew  Henderson  was  one  of  the  earliest  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Associate  Church  of  Scotland  to  the  United 
States,  and  was  the  pioneer  of  that  church  in  what  was  then 
regarded  as  the  western  wilderness,  embracing  the  western 
part  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  unknown  region  beyond.  As 
no  account  of  his  life  has  hitherto  been  written,  and  the  few 
survivors  who  have  any  recollection  of  him  were  but  children 
at  the  time  of  his  decease,  and  are  now  far  down  in  the  vale 
of  years,  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  a  sketch  of  his  life  and  char- 
acter which  will  be  either  full  or  satisfactory.  The  following 
particulars  have  been  gleaned  partly  from  incidental  notices 
of  him  in  various  publications,  and  partly  from  the  recollec- 
tions of  some  aged  survivors  of  his  family. 

Mr.  Henderson  was  born  in  Scotland,  in  the  year  1735. 
His  children  suppose  that  his  birth-place  was  Glasgow,  and 
that  his  classical  education  was  obtained  at  Edinburgh.  He 
entered  at  a  very  early  period  of  life  upon  the  study  of  the 
ology,  under  the  Rev.  Alexander  Moncrieff,  one  of  the  four 
first  Seceders;  a  man  whose  own  theological  course  had  been 
pursued  under  the  celebrated  John   Mark,  of  Lcyden,  and 

(234) 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OF   REV.    M.    HENDERSON.     235 

"who  was  himself  eminent  in  his  day  for  learning,  piety,  cour- 
age, and  generosity.  Mr.  MoncriefF  was  called  the  lion  among 
the  fathers  of  the  Secession;  and  his  pupil,  Mr.  Henderson, 
appears  in  this  respect  to  have  imbibed  the  spirit  of  his  pre- 
ceptor. He  was  licensed  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-one,  a 
thing  very  uncommon  in  Scotland,  where  the  course  of  train- 
ing both  for  mechanical  and  professional  business  is  much 
more  tedious,  and,  at  least  intended  to  be,  much  more  thorough 
than  with  us.  He  was  ordained  two  years  afterwards,  in  the 
summer  of  1758,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Perth  and  Dunfermline, 
and  was  immediately  sent  across  the  Atlantic  to  strengthen 
the  hands  of  the  brethren  who  were  laboring  in  Pennsylva- 
nia. He  was  the  third  permanent  missionary  sent  by  the 
Associate  Church  to  these  then  British  colonies ;  his  prede- 
cessors being  Messrs.  Alexander  Grellatly  and  James  Proudfit. 
Mr.  Andrew  Arnot,  of  Midholm,  was  sent  with  Mr.  Gellatly, 
but  not  obligated  to  remain  except  for  one  year,  and  accord- 
ingly, at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  returned  to  Scotland. 
Mr.  Henderson's  acceptance  of  this  missionary  appointment 
speaks  highly  in  favor  of  his  zeal  and  self-denial  in  the  cause 
of  Christ.  At  this  time  a  missionary  appointment  to  the 
wilds  of  America  was  regarded  as  nearly  equivalent  to  a  ban- 
ishment to  Botany  Bay.  It  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty 
that  one  or  two  out  of  a  large  number  appointed  could  be 
prevailed  on  to  accept  of  such  a  mission.  The  most  rigorous 
measures  were  frequently  employed,  and  even  deposition  from 
the  ministry  threatened,  yet  all  in  vain.  There  is,  however, 
no  account  of  any  reluctance  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Henderson, 
or  any  resort  to  coercive  measures.  He  appears  to  have  been 
willing  for  the  work  assigned  him,  and  to  have  possessed  the 
adventurous,  fearless,  and  hardy  spirit  which  fitted  him  so 
peculiarly  for  a  pioneer  of  the  gospel  in  the  wilderness. — 
[M'Kerrow's  History  of  the  Secession,  pp.  259,  274.] 

Soon  after  his  arrival  in  America,  Mr.  Henderson  was  set- 
tled at  Oxford,  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  appears 


230  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

to  have  labored  in  the  ministry  for  about  twenty  years.  It  is 
not  improbable  that  he  had  the  pastoral  care  of  at  least  one 
other  place ;  as  several  of  his  sermons  written  at  this  time 
are  marked  as  preached  at  "  Pen,"  but  what  place  is  intended 
by  this  contraction  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain.  About  three 
years  after  his  arrival,  the  Rev.  Alexander  Gellatly,  the  father 
of  the  Secession  in  the  United  States,  died,  in  the  forty-sec- 
ond year  of  his  age,  having  exercised  his  ministry  eight  years 
in  Middle  Octorara,  Lancaster  county,  not  far  from  Oxford.* 
By  this  event,  which  took  place  in  1761,  Mr.  Henderson  is 
said  by  Dr.  M'Kerrow  to  have  been  left  with  only  two  asso- 
ciates in  the  ministry— Mr.  James  Proudfit,  of  Pequa,  and 
Mr.  Mason,  father  of  the  late  Dr.  John  Mason,  of  New  York. 
It  is,  however,  probable,  that  about  this  time  Mr.  Annan  had 
also  arrived,  and  Mr.  Smart,  though  the  latter  only  remained 
for  a  short  time  in  this  country.  These  at  this  time  consti- 
tuted the  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania,  the  only  court  of  the 
Associate  Church  in  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Henderson  appears  to  have  continued  in  the  pastoral 
charge  of  Oxford  till  the  year  1781.  During  this  time  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Faris,  and  became  the  father  of 
several  children.  His  name  appears  up  till  about  this  time 
in  the  minutes  of  the  Presbytery,  and  of  meetings  held  with 
a  view  to  the  union  of  the   Associate   and  Reformed  Presby- 


*  The  Rev.  J.  r.  Miller,  in  his  "  Sketches  and  Sermons,"  has  fallen  into 
some  mistakes  respecting  Mr.  Gollatly.  He  says  that  his  arrival  in  the 
United  States  was  in  175  1,  whereas  it  was  in  1753.  He  mentions  correctly 
that  ho  died  in  1701 ;  but  adds — "A  little  less  than  five  years  after  his  arri- 
val," whereas,  according  to  his  own  statements,  it  must  have  been  seven. 
It  was  in  reality  eight.  Mr.  Miller  is  also  mistaken  in  saying  that  Mr. 
Arnot's  mission  was  for  two  years.  It  was  only  for  one.  He  speaks  of  the 
mission  of  Messrs.  Henderson  and  Mason  as  having  been  at  the  same  time, 
and  of  Mr.  Smart's  as  near  the  same  time.  Mr.  Henderson  was  sent  in  175S  ; 
and  three  years  afterwards,  (1701,)  Messrs.  John  Mason,  Robert  Annan,  and 
John  Smart.  [See  Sketches,  &c,  pp.  11-11;  compare  M'Kerrow's  History, 
pp.  259,  274.] 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP  REV.    M.    HENDERSON.     237 

teries.  In  the  measures  adopted  to  effect  this  union,  he  took 
a  decided  part  with  Messrs.  Marshall  and  Clarkson  against 
what  he  considered  the  loose  and  ambiguous  terms  in  which 
the  union  was  at  last  consummated ;  and  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  had  he  been  present  when  the  union  was  effected,  he 
would  have  joined  with  these  brethren  in  refusing  to  accede 
to  it.  But  he  had  in  the  mean  time  been  removed  to  a  great 
distance,  where  he  had  not  full  opportunity  of  knowing  the 
true  state  of  things,  and  he  and  his  people  for  a  time  acceded 
to  the  union.  This  union  took  place  in  1782 ;  and  in  1789, 
having  become  dissatisfied  with  the  newly-organized  church, 
he  made  application  to  his  former  brethren  of  the  Associate 
Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania,  acknowledging  his  sin  in  having 
withdrawn  from  their  fellowship,  and  was  restored.  The  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Presbytery  on  this  occasion  were  published, 
together  with  a  letter  to  Mr.  Henderson,  and  another  to  the 
congregations  of  Chartiers,  Mingo  Creek,  and  Mill  Creek. 
These  proceedings  evince  a  candid  and  ingenuous  spirit  on  the 
part  of  Mr.  Henderson,  and  a  spirit  of  tenderness  and  faith- 
fulness on  the  part  of  his  brethren.  This  pamphlet  of  eight 
pages  was  republished  in  1836,  with  some  prefatory  remarks 
by  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Miller,  in  the  Religious  Monitor,  vol.  xiii., 
pp.  209-13. 

Mr.  Henderson  was  at  this  time  pastor  of  the  Associate 
congregations  of  Chartiers  and  Buffalo,  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania.  To  these  places  he  had  removed,  in  compliance 
with  a  call  in  the  year  1782.  These  places  he  had  visited  as 
early  as  1779.  In  a  manuscript  volume  of  his  sermons  he 
marks  some  as  preached  at  Chartiers  and  Buffalo,  in  April 
and  May  of  that  year.  It  appears,  however,  that  on  his  way 
to  the  West  with  his  family,  the  reports  of  disturbances 
caused  by  the  Indians  were  so  alarming  that  he  left  his  family 
by  the  way  at  Canigocheague,  and  proceeded  alone  to  his  new 
charge.  The  family  remained  about  a  year  at  Canigocheague, 
and  then  followed  him  to  Chartiers.     Their  situation,  when 


238  nrsTORY  op  jefferson  college. 

left  behind,  was  far  from  comfortable,  as  they  had  no  better 
habitation  than  a  rude  cabin,  or  kind  of  shanty ;  nor  was 
their  situation  greatly  improved  when  they  reached  their  jour- 
ney's end.  But  the  hardships  of  pioneer  life  are  so  well 
known  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  reiterate  the  many  descrip- 
tions given  of  them.  Perhaps,  however,  in  Western  Penn- 
sylvania these  hardships  were  greater  than  in  most  other 
places.  This  region  is  separated  from  the  Atlantic  coast  by 
vast  ranges  of  mountains  intersecting  the  country  for  upwards 
of  a  hundred  miles.  Salt,  iron,  and  all  kinds  of  merchandise 
had  to  be  transported  over  these  rugged  mountains  upon  pack 
horses  all  the  way  from  Chambersburg  to  Pittsburgh.  There 
was  at  this  time  no  railroad,  canal,  turnpike,  or  even  carriage 
road,  making  but  a  rough  and  often  precipitous  path  for 
horses.  The  products  of  the  land  were  abundant,  but  there 
could  hardly  be  said  to  be  any  market  for  the  surplus. 
Money  was  of  course  exceedingly  scarce,  luxuries  were  out 
of  the  question,  and  even  some  of  the  necessaries  of  life  only 
to  be  obtained  with  the  greatest  difficulty.  The  settlement 
of  Mr.  Henderson  in  Chartiers  took  place  in  the  year  1782, 
and  for  some  years  he  was  the  only  minister  of  the  Associate 
Church  west  of  the  mountains.  In  consequence  of  this,  he 
had  not  only  the  care  of  his  own  widely-scattered  flock,  but 
of  several  vacancies  in  his  neighborhood.  Among  these  were 
Mingo  and  Mill  Creek,  to  which  congregations,  as  we  have 
seen,  letters  were  addressed  by  the  Presbytery  at  the  time  of 
his  restoration  to  their  fellowship. 

His  life  was  evidently  one  of  much  labor,  as  well  as  hard- 
ship. He  appears  from  some  of  his  papers  preserved  by  his 
children  to  have  written  his  sermons  regularly,  though  not 
altogether  in  full,  and  in  a  hand  not  easily  legible.  The 
inscription  on  his  tombstone  bears  witness  that  he  never  for 
once  disappointed  his  people  on  the  Sabbath.  He  attended 
diligently  to  the  duties  of  catechising  and  visiting  from  house 
to  house.     And  as  he  abounded  in  labors,  so  an  evident  bless- 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP   REV.    M.    HENDERSON.     239 

ing  attended  his  ministry.  Mr.  Daniel  Houston,  who  took  a 
very  conspicuous  part  with  Messrs.  Marshall  and  Clarkson  in 
opposition  to  the  afore-mentioned  union,  received  his  first  reli- 
gious impressions  under  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Henderson 
when  assisting  Mr.  Smith  at  the  dispensation  of  the  Supper. 
No  doubt  the  case  was  the  same  with  many  others.  The 
Presbytery,  in  receiving  him  back  to  fellowship,  bear  honor- 
able testimony  to  the  fruits  of  his  ministry  from  the  very 
commencement  of  his  labors.  They  say  : — "  As  your  minis- 
try was  not  without  acceptance  and  usefulness  at  the  time  of 
your  entering  into  the  public  service  of  the  gospel,  we  pray 
God  that  it  may  be  made  more  so  now  when  the  evening  of 
your  day  draws  nigh."  [Proceedings,  &c,  pp.  5,  6.]  Mr. 
Marshall,  in  defending  him  from  an  attack  made  upon  his 
character  by  the  Rev.  Robert  Annan,  in  consecpience  of  his 
having  withdrawn  from  the  communion  of  the  Associate 
Reformed  Synod,  observes  : — "  It  might  have  been  expected 
that  Mr.  Henderson's  gray  hairs  in  the  service  of  Christ,  his 
usefulness  in  the  ministry,  and  his  weakly  and  infirm  state  of 
health,  would  have  gained  better  treatment  than  Mr.  Annan 
has  given  him."  Mr.  Marshall  proceeds  to  quote  from  letters, 
Mr.  Henderson's  answer  to  the  charges  made  against  him, 
and  closes  with  Mr.  Henderson's  expression  of  his  confi- 
dence— "  That  after  all  Mr.  Annan's  bluster,  he  hopes  his 
character  stands  as  fair  in  the  eyes  of  the  Christian  world  as 
Mr.  Annan's."  Such,  too,  was  the  general  reputation  of  Mr. 
Henderson,  that  Mr.  Annan's  abuse  of  him  was  reprobated 
by  his  own  brethren,  notwithstanding  his  having  withdrawn 
from  their  communion.  [Marshall's  Vindication,  pp.  89,  90,] 
The  generation  which  enjoyed  his  ministrations  has  chiefly 
passsed  away ;  but  the  continued  flourishing  state  of  the  con- 
gregations in  which  he  finished  his  labors  has  no  doubt  been 
owing,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  character  which  his  ministry 
had  impressed  upon  them. 

Mr.  Henderson's  voice  was  remarkable  for  distinctness  and 


240  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

power.  In  the  summer  season  be  usually  preached  in  a  tent 
at  the  foot  of  a  hill  now  occupied  as  the  grave-yard  of  the 
congregation  of  Chartiers.  The  place  of  the  tent  was  near 
the  grave  of  the  late  Jonathan  Lethcrman,  M.  D.  From  the 
bottom  to  the  top  of  the  hill  is  about  forty  perches ;  and  yet 
not  only  the  sound  of  his  voice,  but  his  words,  could  all  be 
heard  distinctly  at  that  distance.  Neither  in  conversation 
nor  in  the  pulpit,  did  he  make  any  attempt  to  lay  aside  the 
broad  vernacular  of  his  country.  His  manner  of  addressing 
his  people  was  also  according  to  the  custom  of  his  country, 
plain  and  familiar.  He  called  them  all  simply  by  their  proper 
names,  like  a  father  addressing  his  children.  His  reproofs 
of  vanity  and  ill-behavior,  especially  in  the  sanctuary,  were 
sometimes  exceedingly  pointed  and  scathing,  but  not  ill-temp- 
ered. It  has  been  related,  that  on  one  occasion,  when  a  young 
lady  bad  made  her  appearance  at  the  church  in  a  new  calico 
dress,  which  in  those  days  was  regarded  as  the  height  of 
female  extravagance,  and  when  she  had  frequently  risen  from 
her  seat,  and  gone  to  different  parts  of  the  assembly,  Mr. 
Henderson  having  noticed  her  movements,  and  observed  her 
rising  from  her  seat  a  fourth  time,  said  to  her  very  calmly — 
"  That  is  the  fourth  time,  my  lass,  that  you  have  left  your 
seat.  You  can  sit  down  now,  we  have  a'  seen  your  braw  new 
gown."  The  young  lady,  of  course,  did  not  wait  for  a  second 
invitation  to  do  as  she  was  directed. 

In  appearance,  Mr.  Henderson  was  of  a  very  swarthy  com- 
plexion. He  had  very  keen  dark  eyes,  was  of  a  large  size, 
of  an  erect  and  majestic  figure,  and  possessed  uncommon  mus- 
cular power.  An  anecdote  has  been  related  of  him,  and 
sometimes  erroneously  attributed  to  others,  which  illustrated 
his  physical  powers,  and  also  the  treatment  to  which  even 
ministers  of  the  gospel  were  exposed  in  those  early  times. 
On  one  occasion,  when  traveling  over  the  mountains  to  meet 
with  his  brethren  in  Presbytery,  he  happened  to  lodge  at  a 
tavern  where  two  men  took  the  liberty  of  treating  him  with 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OP   REV.    M.    HENDERSON.    241 

great  rudeness.  This  he  endured  for  some  time  with  much 
patience.  His  patience,  however,  was  mistaken  for  timidity, 
and  only  encouraged  their  impertinence,  till  at  last  nothing 
would  do  but  he  must  fight.  This,  of  course,  he  was  disposed 
to  decline ;  but,  whether  he  would  or  not,  they  were  deter- 
mined upon  an  assault.  Finding  that  he  could  not  otherwise 
evade  rough  usage,  he  arose  and  deliberately  stripping  off  his 
black  coat,  laid  it  aside,  saying — "  Lie  there,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Henderson,  and  now  Matthew  defend  yourself."  So  saying, 
he  seized  one  of  the  ruffians,  dashed  him  out  through  an  open 
window,  and  was  preparing  to  send  the  other  by  the  same 
road  to  keep  him  company.  But  this  one,  seeing  the  kind  of 
man  they  had  to  deal  with,  was  in  no  hurry  to  put  himself 
in  the  way  of  such  rough  usage.  Mr.  Henderson  having  thus 
taught  them  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  Gideon's  teaching 
the  men  of  Succoth  with  the  thorns  and  briars  of  the  wilder- 
ness, passed  the  rest  of  the  night  in  peace  and  quietness. 

Another  anecdote  of  a  different  character  has  frequently, 
though  not  correctly,  been  related  of  him.  It  has  been  said 
that  he  was  very  fond  of  tea ;  and,  as  it  was  seldom  to  be 
met  with  among  the  early  settlers  of  the  country,  that  he  was 
accustomed  to  carry  a  paper  of  it  with  him  in  his  travels. 
On  one  occasion,  having  brought  it  forth  to  be  prepared  by 
the  lady  of  the  house,  when  he  sat  down  at  the  table,  not 
seeing  anything  like  his  favorite  beverage,  he  inquired  what 
had  been  done  with  it.  The  lady  directed  his  attention  to  a 
plate  having  the  appearance  of  greens,  nicely  buttered  and 
peppered.  This  was  his  dish  of  tea.  "  0  madam,"  said  he, 
"what  have  you  done  with  the  broth?"  "Why,"  said  she, 
"  I  threw  that  away."  The  individual  whose  tea  was  cooked 
for  him  in  this  manner  was  not,  however,  Mr.  Henderson,  but 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Howlitson,  an  intimate  friend  of  his  who  was 
of  feeble  health,  and  died  in  his  youth.  No  mention  is  made 
of  such  a  person  in  the  account  of  the  missions  of  the  Asso- 
21 


242  HISTORY    OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEOE. 

ciate  Church  in  America.  It  is  probable  that  he  came  to  this 
country  without  any  appointment ;  and  little  more  is  known 
of  him  than  that  he  lies  beside  Mr.  Henderson,  but  with  no 
stone  to  mark  the  place  of  his  grave. 

Mr.  Henderson  was  of  a  peculiarly  affectionate  disposition 
towards  his  family,  and  in  all  his  intercourse  with  society. 
His  numerous  and  scattered  charge  rendered  it  necessary  for 
him  to  be  often  absent  from  home,  and  frequently  for  a  week 
or  more  at  a  time.  But  he  would  surmount  almost  any  diffi- 
culty rather  than  cause  uneasiness  to  his  family  by  an  absence 
beyond  the  appointed  time.  He  expected  a  like  punctuality 
on  their  part ;  and  if  the  return  of  any  absent  member  were 
delayed,  would  ride  a  journey  of  ten  miles  or  more  to  ascer- 
tain whether  any  accident  had  happened.  The  day  before 
his -death  he  had  been  disappointed  by  the  continued  absence 
of  Mrs.  Henderson  and  two  of  his  daughters,  who  had  been 
detained  while  on  a  visit  to  some  friends  at  a  distance.  His 
daughter  Elizabeth,  however,  returned  during  the  day.  He 
appeared  to  be  much  gratified  at  meeting  her ;  and  having 
walked  out  with  her  to  the  place  where  he  was  killed  the 
next  morning,  he  gave  her  repeated  charges,  in  case  of  his 
death,  to  be  kind  to  her  mother.  This,  and  some  other  occur- 
rences, seemed  almost  to  indicate  a  presentiment  that  his  end 
was  at  hand. 

At  the  age  of  sixty  he  had  become  somewhat  infirm,  but 
not  to  such  a  degree  as  to  interfere  with  his  labors.  His 
infirmities  were  no  doubt  occasioned  by  the  hardships  to  which 
he  had  been  exposed,  and  from  which  he  took  but  little  pains 
to  protect  himself.  An  aged  member  of  the  church,*  who 
heard  him  once  in  his  youth  preaching  in  a  tent  without  any 
covering  during  a  shower,  recollects  that  when  some  one  was 
so  kind  as  to  hold  an  umbrella  over  his  head,  he  repectfully 

•  Mr.  James  Thorn,  of  Pigeon  Creek. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OP   REV.    M.    HENDERSON.     243 

declined  the  proffered  favor,  and  proceeded  in  the  services 
regardless  of  the  rain.  But,  though  fearless  of  other  evils, 
he  had  been  much  troubled  with  the  fear  of  death, — not  so 
much  with  the  fear  of  leaving  the  world,  as  of  the  pains  of 
dying ;  and  it  pleased  a  kind  Providence,  in  taking  him  away, 
to  exempt  him  from  the  evil  which  he  so  much  feared.  He 
was  killed  by  the  falling  of  a  tree,  upon  the  2d  of  October, 
1795,  at  the  age  of  sixty,  and  in  the  thirty-seventh  year  of 
his  ministry,  reckoning  from  the  time  of  his  ordination. 

The  circumstances  of  his  death,  as  related  by  the  daughter 
who  was  with  him  at  the  time,  are  as  follows  : — On  the  even- 
ing of  October  1st,  he  had  expressed  to  his  children  a  wish 
that  they  would  fell  a  bee-tree  which  had  been  discovered  on 
his  farm,  and  preparations  were  accordingly  made  to  proceed 
to  it  early  in  the  morning.  He  had  acquainted  his  daughter 
Elizabeth,  then  a  child  of  ten  years  of  age,  with  their  pur- 
pose, and  told  her  that  if  she  could  get  up  in  the  morning 
without  awakening  her  younger  sister  Jane,  she  might  go 
with  him.  Accordingly,  the  next  morning  he  went  quietly 
to  her  bed,  and  touched  her  gently  to  awake  her  without  dis- 
turbing her  sister.  She  was  soon  up ;  and  having  dressed 
herself  for  the  expedition,  hurried  into  her  father's  room, 
supposing  him  also  to  be  ready.  She  found  him  on  his  knees 
engaged  in  secret  prayer,  and  immediately  withdrew.  Soon 
after  this  she  observed  him  going  down  to  the  spring  with  a 
basin  and  towel  to  wash  himself,  as  was  his  custom  in  the 
morning.  Some  time  after  he  had  returned  she  again  ven- 
tured into  his  room,  and  again  found  him  engaged  in  prayer. 
Soon  afterwards  he  came  out,  and  taking  her  by  the  hand  he 
led  her  to  the  place  where  his  sons  Ebenezer  and  Robert  had 
been  for  some  time  engaged  in  felling  the  tree.  The  tree 
stood  upon  a  bank,  and  it  was  supposed  would  fall  down  the 
side  of  it.  Mr.  Henderson  and  his  daughter  approached 
towards  it  on  the  higher  ground,  where  it  was  thought  there 


244  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

was  no  danger.  Here  they  stood  for  a  little  time,  at  some 
distance  from  the  tree,  awaiting  its  fall.  It  proved  to  be 
decayed  in  the  centre,  and  fell  much  sooner  than  bad  been 
anticipated,  and  also  in  an  opposite  direction  from  what  had 
been  calculated.  Mr.  Henderson,  notwithstanding  repeated 
cautions  given  him,  would  always,  when  a  tree  began  to  fall, 
run  from  it  in  a  direction  opposite  to  that  in  which  he 
supposed  it  to  be  falling.  On  this  occasion,  as  usual,  he  ran, 
but  in  the  same  direction  with  the  falling  of  the  tree.  His 
daughter  followed  his  example,  but  varied  somewhat  in  her 
course,  and  escaped  any  injury.  Her  father  had  run  to  such 
a  distance  that  it  was  only  the  branches  which  reached  him, 
and  his  body  was  but  little  mutilated.  Only  a  slight  flesh 
wound  was  discovered  on  his  head  ;  yet  he  appeared  to  have 
died  instantly,  not  having  been  observed  to  move  or  breathe 
by  his  smiis,  who  were  immediately  beside  him. 

Mr.  Henderson,  and  some  of  his  brethren  of  other  societies 
who  first  planted  the  gospel  in  the  West,  were  anxious  to  pro- 
mote the  cause  of  literature  in  connection  with  religion,  and 
from  the  first  turned  their  attention  to  the  establishment  of 
literary  institutions.  The  venerable  Dr.  M'Millan,  who  pre- 
ceded him  in  his  settlement  a  few  years,  appears  to  have  led 
the  way,  but  he  found  Mr.  Henderson  an  earnest  and  efficient 
coadjutor.  As  early  as  the  year  1780,*  a  "Latin  school,"  as 
it  was  called,  was  taught  in  a  small  log  cabin,  erected  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  M'Millan  for  his  study.  The  teacher  was  Mr.,  after- 
wards the  Hon.  James  lloss,  of  Pittsburgh.  This  log  cabin, 
which  may  justly  be  considered  the  germ  of  Jefferson  College, 
is  still  standing,  and  has  been  carefully  preserved  as  a  memo- 
rial of  the  past.  Some  years  ago  it  was  removed  to  a  spot 
at  a  little  distance  from  the  original  site,  and  its  foundation 


*  The  writer  has  adoptod  this  date  from  the  prevailing  popular,  but,  as  we 
think,  erroneous  tradition. — J.  S. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   REV.    M.    HENDERSON.    245 

renovated,  so  that  it  is  supposed  it  may  yet  last  a  century. 
The  number  of  classical  scholars  having  increased,  it  was 
judged  necessary  to  fix  upon  a  permanent  place,  and  erect  a 
more  spacious  and  suitable  building.  Previous  to  this  impor- 
tant measure  there  was  a  solemn  meeting  for  consultation  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  M'Millan,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Henderson,  and  other 
venerable  fathers,  who  spent  a  great  part  of  the  day  in  prayer. 
Canonsburg,  so  called  from  Col.  Ganon,  on  whose  ground  the 
town  had  been  built,  was  selected  as  the  site ;  and  a  tolerably 
comfortable  stone  building  was  soon  erected,  and  ready  to  be 
occupied.  The  Canonsburg  Academy  was  then  organized, 
and  respectable  professors  appointed  in  the  various  depart- 
ments of  literature.  The  following  account  of  the  commence- 
ment of  this  institution  is  chiefly  extracted  from  a  letter 
written  by  one  of  the  first  pupils  of  the  institution  to  the  late 
Rev.  Matthew  Brown,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  for  many  years  Presi- 
dent of  Jefferson  College. 

In  July,  1791,  a  meeting  was  called  to  see  the  Canonsblirg 
Academy  opened,  the  site  of  the  institution  having  been 
agreed  upon  the  clay  previous.  At  10  o'clock,  Tuesday  morn- 
ing, many  citizens  were  upon  the  ground  to  witness  the  open- 
ing of  the  first  academy  on  the  west  side  of  the  Allegheny 
mountains.  Among  them  was  the  Rev.  Matthew  Henderson, 
of  whom  the  writer  gives  the  following  account  : — "  Mr. 
Henderson  was  a  Scotch  Seceder  clergyman,  blessed  with 
Scotch  talents,  Scotch  education,  Scotch  theology,  and  Scotch 
piety.  His  memory  is  still  highly  cherished  as  a  worthy  con- 
temporary of  Messrs.  M'Millan  and  Smith.  These  three 
ministers,  with  Mr.  Johnson,  (the  teacher,)  and  two  pupils, 
William  Riddle  and  Robert  Patterson,  (the  writer  of  the 
letter,)  took  their  position  in  the  shade  of  some  sassafras 
bushes  growing  in  (the  corner  of)  a  worm  fence  near  the 
English  school-house,  which  could  not  be  vacated  for  a  short 
time.  And  here,  under  the  pleasant  shade  of  the  green 
21* 


246  HISTORY    OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

bushes,  protected  from  the  rajs  of  a  July  sun, — the  two  pupils 
were  about  to  commence  their  recitation,  when  Mr.  M'Millan, 
addressing  his  two  brethren,  remarked  in  substance  as  follows  : 

"  This  is  an  important  day  in  our  history,  affecting  deeply 
the  interests  of  the  church  and  country  in  the  West,- — affect- 
ing our  own  interests  and  welfare  for  time  and  eternity, — and 
the  interests,  it  may  be,  of  thousands  and  thousands  yet 
unborn."  Then  turning  to  Mr.  Henderson,  he  asked  him 
to  engage  in  prayer,  seeking  the  blessing  of  God  on  the  insti- 
tution now  to  be  opened.  "  And,"  continues  the  writer,  "  I 
must  say,  the  broad  vernacular  pronunciation  of  the  Scotch 
tongue  never  could  be  more  delightful  or  impressive  than  it 
was  while  every  thing  proper  to  the  occasion  appeared  to  be 
remembered  in  prayer  by  this  good  man." 

The  Academy  having  commenced  under  these  circumstances, 
was  incorporated  as  a  college  in  1802,  and  is  the  oldest  insti- 
tution of  the  kind  west  of  the  mountains. 

Mr.  Henderson  was  blessed  with  a  numerous  family — in  all, 
fourteen  children.  Of  these,  four  died  in  their  infancy.  Five 
sons  and  five  daughters  lived  to  maturity.  Matthew,  his  oldest 
son,  was  licensed  during  the  time  of  his  father's  connection  with 
the  Associate  Reformed  Church,  and  remained  in  that  society, 
of  which  he  was  a  very  respectable  minister.  He  was  for 
many  years  pastor  of  a  congregation  in  the  Forks  of  Yougb, 
and  died  a  few  years  ago  at  an  advanced  age.  Ebenezer,  his- 
third  son,  was  a  minister  of  the  Associate  Church.  He  was 
settled  for  a  short  time  at  Pittsburgh,  iu  connection  with  a 
small  congregation  in  the  country.  From  this  place  he  was 
called  to  Philadelphia,  and  was  about  to  be  removed.  Pre- 
vious, however,  to  his  settlement,  he  died  at  a  public  house 
while  on  a  journey.  He  had  given  promise  of  much  eminence 
in  the  ministry ;  and  his  death  was  much  and  long  lamented 
by  the  congregation  whose  call  he  had  accepted,  and  by  the 
whole  church.  Robert,  the  fourth  son,  still  survives,  and  has 
for  many  years  been  an  elder  of  very  respectable  standing  in 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OP  REV.    M.    HENDERSON.     247 

his  father's  congregation.  John,  the  second,  and  Joseph,  the 
fifth  son,  have  heen  dead  for  many  years.  One  or  more  of 
the  descendants  of  the  former  are  at  this  time  ministers  of 
the  Associate  Church.  Mary,  the  oldest  daughter,  became 
the  wife  of  Mr.  White,  a  member  of  her  father's  congrega- 
tion. She  died  a  few  years  ago,  at  a  great  age,  leaving  a 
numerous  family  of  children,  and  children's  children,  to  the 
third  and  fourth  generation.  Ellen,  the  second  daughter, 
was  married  to  the  late  Samuel  Murdoch,  M.  D.,  and  died 
young,  leaving  but  one  child,  Ellen,  the  wife  of  Joseph  Teni- 
pleton,  M.  D.,  of  Washington,  Pennsylvania.  Ann,  the  third 
daughter,  was  married  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Allison,  of  Mount 
Hope,  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania.  She  also  died  a 
few  years  ago,  leaving  several  children.  Elizabeth,  the  fourth 
daughter,  was  married  to  Alexander  Murdock,  Esq.,  of  Wash- 
ington, Pennsylvania.  Jane,  the  youngest,  was  married  to 
Mr.  Clark,  of  Buffalo,  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania. 
These  last  two  both  survive.  The  most  of  Mr.  Henderson's 
children  had  numerous  families ;  and  these  again  have 
increased  till  it  would  be  difficult,  or  perhaps  impossible,  to 
reckon  up  the  number  of  his  descendants.  They  are  mostly, 
if  not  all,  with  the  exception  of  Ebenezer's  family,  dispersed 
through  the  various  regions  of  the  West,  though  probably  the 
larger  part  are  in  the  region  of  their  father's  labors.  In  this 
case  we  see  verified  the  promise  that  the  generation  of  the 
just  shall  be  blessed.  Very  few  have  left  so  many  children, 
and  children's  children,  who  have  so  generally  done  worthily, 
and  held  such  a  respectable  standing  both  in  civil  and  reli- 
gious society. 

Mr.  Henderson  was  among  the  first  buried  in  the  grave- 
yard of  Chartiers  over  whose  remains  a  stone  was  erected.  It 
has  now  for  sixty  years  been  exposed  to  the  corroding  tooth 
of  time  ;  and  the  inscription  will  soon,  if  not  renewed,  become 
illegible.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  it.  The  poetry  is  not 
unexceptionable,  yet  is  pretty  well  for  those  early  times  : — 


248  HISTORY    OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

"  In  memory  of  the  Rev.  Matthew  Hxnskbbon,  who  departed  this  life 
October  2,  1795,  aged  60  years,  and  in  the  37th  of  his  ministry* 

"  In  heavenly  toils,  0  Henderson,  grown  gray, 
Thy  earthly  frame  was  hastening  to  decay. 
Thy  growing  languor  threatened  to  detain 
Thee  from  thy  loved  employment,  but  in  vain.  > 

For  in  thy  course  no  Sabbath  failed  t'  attest 
The  love  of  souls  which  burned  within  thy  breast  ; 
Till  by  one  transient  stroke  which  gave  release, 
Thy  Saviour  bade  thee  enter  into  peace. 
Great  and  (most)  happy  change  from  battered  dust 
Unto  the  glorious  mansions  of  the  just ! 
Let  us  prepare  to  measure  that  bright  road, 
The  best  of  all  our  friends  is  there — our  God." 

T.  B. 

As  the  writer  of  the  above  article  had  not  access  to  the 
minutes  of  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania,  we 
have,  at  his  request,  given  them  a  cursory  examination,  as  the 
result  of  which  we  present  the  following  additional  facts. 

The  name  of  the  congregation  over  which  Mr.  Henderson 
was  placed,  in  connection  with  Oxford,  was  Pencader,  or  Pen 
Calder.  It  is  spelled  both  ways  in  the  minutes.  It  seems  to 
have  been  a  place  of  little  importance.  We  know  not  whero 
it  was  located.  It  no  longer  exists  as  a  congregation.  Tho 
congregation  of  Oxford,  however,  still  lives  and  flourishes. 
It  was  from  this  place  that  the  first  petition  for  preaching  was 
sent  to  the  Synod  in  Scotland,  and  we  believe  it  is  the  place 
where  the  first  Associate  Presbyterian  congregation  in  Amer- 
ica was  organized.  It  has  for  a  long  time  been  under  the 
charge  of  Rev.  Wim  Easton,  in  connection  with  Octorara  and 
Muddy  Run ;  but  about  two  years  ago  he  resigned  that  por- 
tion of  his  charge,  and  in  February  last  it  was  placed  under 
the  care  of  Rev.  J.  H.  Andrew,  it  present  pastor. 

"We  find  that  Mr.  Henderson  was  very  punctual  in  his 
attendance  on  the  meetings  of  Presbytery ;  although  in  those 
days  of  magnificent  distances  and  bad  roads,  this  was  no  easy 
matter.     Whoever  was  absent,  the  name  of  Mr.  Henderson 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   REV.    M,    HENDERSON.     2-19 

is  at  the  commencement  of  the  minutes  of  each  meeting  about 
as  invariably  as  the  date. 

The  statement  in  regard  to  the  ministers  who  composed  the 
Presbytery  in  1761,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Gellatly,  is  correct. 
Mr.  Annan  was  ordained  by  Mr.  Henderson  and  Mr.  Proud- 
foot,  on  the  8  th  of  June,  1763. 

During  all  the  time  of  Mr.  Henderson's  settlement  in  East- 
ern Pennsylvania,  he,  in  common  with  his  brethren,  had  to 
spend  a  great  portion  of  his  time  away  from  home,  traveling 
long,  wearisome,  and  dangerous  journeys,  to  supply  the  many 
places,  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  which,  at  every  meet- 
ing of  Presbytery,  were  sending  in  urgent  calls  for  divine 
ordinances.  To  give  some  idea  of  the  state  of  things  at  that 
time,  we  give  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by 
the  Presbytery,  in  1764,  to  the  Synod  in  Scotland,  asking  for 
more  missionaries : 

"  "We  hereby,  in  the  most  earnest  manner,  supplicate  this 
Reverend  Synod  for  more  assistance  in  the  weighty  work 
among  our  hands ;  and  if  it  be  not  sent  us,  the  buddings  of 
reformation  work  on  this  Continent  of  America  will  be  in 
danger  of  being  blasted,  and  the  work  mar  altogether,  and 
the  constitutions  of  members  of  Presbytery  worn  out  with 
the  great  fatigues  they  of  necessity  undergo,  in  watering,  not 
only  their  own  congregations,  which  are  all  divided  into  two, 
and  some  three  parts,  in  this  Province,  but  also  are  far  dis- 
tanced from  one  another ;  and  this  is  not  all ;  for  they  must 
go  much  abroad,  and  preach,  and  dispense  the  sacraments,  in 
vacant  congregations.  One  minister,  with  a  probationer,  fre- 
quently dispenses  the  sacrament  of  the  Supper  in  congrega- 
tions, sometimes  two  Sabbaths  successively,  in  different  places ; 
and  sometimes  a  minister  has  done  this  without  any  assistance 
at  all.  This  has  been  done  twice  this  last  summer  by  one 
member ;  and  two  of  our  number  have  this  year  been  in  North 
Carolina,  which  is  five  hundred  miles  distant  from  this.  So  that 
our  deplorable  situation  cannot  miss  to  have  a  loud  language  in 


250  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

the  ears  of  our  dear  brethren,  for  to  influence  them  to  send 
us  more  supply  of  probationers,  and  that  speedily." 

At  the  meeting  of  Presbytery  at  Oxford,  November  17th, 
1779,  was  read  "a  call  for  Mr.  Henderson,  and  a  petition 
containing  reasons  for  the  transportation,  and  craving  his 
admission,  from  Chartiers  and  Buffalo."  This  call  had  been 
moderated  at  Chartiers,  by  Rev.  John  Murray,  on  the  18th 
of  October.  The  members  of  session  present  at  the  modera- 
tion were  James  Scott,  John  White,  Nicholas  Little,  and 
David  Reed,  of  Chartiers,  and  John  and  James  Brownlee, 
and  Andrew  Scott,  of  Buffalo.  The  result  of  the  vote  was 
for  Mr.  Henderson,  thirty-four,  and  for  Mr.  Smith,  then  of 
Octorara,  twenty-two.  Seven  of  the  latter  signed  the  call. 
No  action  was  taken  in  regard  to  it  by  the  Presbytery,  till 
their  meeting  at  Muddy  Creek,  March  16th,  1780,  when,  in 
connection  with  this  call  and  petition,  was  presented  one  from 
Oxford,  containing  answers  to  it,  and  praying  for  their  minis- 
ter's continuance.  The  matter  was  considered  for  some  time, 
both  privately  in  committee  of  the  whole,  and  afterwards  pub- 
licly in  the  Presbytery  in  their  judicative  capacity,  and 
"  nothing  of  disaffection  to  Mr.  Henderson,  in  Oxford  Church, 
nor  the  want  of  a  support  appearing  to  the  Presbytery,  they 
agreed  to  take  the  matter  in  this  point  of  light,  whether  Mr. 
Henderson's  continuance  at  Oxford,  or  his  transportation  to 
Chartiers,  appears  most  for  the  ends  of  general  edification  in 
the  church  of  Christ  ?  Hereupon  a  long  course  of  reasoning 
ensued  on  this  subject."  After  prayer  "for  direction  in  this 
weighty  business,"  the  question  was  put,  transport  or  not  ? 
On  this  the  Presbytery  was  equally  divided ;  "  whereupon 
the  Moderator,  (Mr.  Henderson  himself,)  with  great  tender- 
ness, and  assigning  various  reasons,  gave  his  casting  vote  in 
favor  of  the  transportation,"  &c.  At  the  same  meeting  we 
find  it  recorded  that  "  the  Presbytery  consider  the  relation 
between  Mr.  Henderson  and  the  people  in  Chartiers  and  Buf- 
falo, to  commence  from  this  day,  and  that  his  salary  also  now 
commence;  and  that  these  people  should  be  at  the  expense 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  REV.    M.    HENDERSON.     251 

of  removing  him,  his  family,  and  effects  thither  ;  and  as  they 
agreed  to  pay  him  one  hundred  pound  hard  money  annually, 
or  400  bushels  of  wheat,  the  Presbytery  agree  he  shall  have 
it  in  his  option  to  take  either  as  it  may  best  suit  him,"  &c. 

Some  difficulty,  the  nature  of  which  cannot  be  clearly  ascer- 
tained, seems  to  have  existed  between  Mr.  Henderson,  his 
congregation,  and  the  Presbytery,  in  regard  to  his  transporta- 
tion. He  seems  to  have  been  hurt  at  some  things  said  on 
the  floor  of  Presbytery  in  the  course  of  the  discussion  in 
regard  to  his  removal,  in  consequence  of  which  he  addressed 
a  letter  to  the  Presbytery  (April  5th,  1781)  which  they  char- 
acterize as  "  containing  injurious  reflections,  &c. — with  a  vein 
of  irony  running  through  the  whole,"  &c.  He  afterwards, 
(September  6th,)  made  acknowledgments  for  the  offensive 
things  contained  in  the  letter,  and  the  whole  matter  was  satis- 
factorily adjusted. 

Before  Mr.  Henderson's  departure  for  the  West,  which 
took  place  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1781,  several  peti- 
tions were  received  from  Canigocheague,  desiring  the  Presby- 
tery to  send  him  there.  And  at  the  meeting,  October  31st, 
1781,  their  petition  being  called  up,  the  Presbytery,  "after 
much  reasoning  on  the  subject,  agree  that  Mr.  Henderson  be 
recommended  to  prosecute  his  call  to  Chartiers — that  these 
people  be  addressed  in  a  letter  by  Mr.  Murray,  to  make  suit- 
able provision  for  moving  Mr.  Henderson's  family  and  effects 
thither  in  the  spring,  and  remove  every  cause  of  just  com- 
plaint of  deficiency  on  their  part — and  that  Mr.  Henderson 
be  appointed  to  supply  some  Sabbath  at  Canigocheague  (pro- 
nounced Canigojig)  before  next  meeting."  From  the  circum- 
stance that  he  was  absent  from  the  next  meeting,  which  took 
place  April  10th,  1782,  we  conclude  that  he  had,  in  the  mean 
time,  removed  to  the  West,  his  departure  having  been  thus 
delayed  in  consequence  of  the  Indian  war,  which  also  ren- 
dered it  necessary,  as  stated  in  the  preceding  sketch,  that  he 
should  leave  his  family  at  Canigocheague,  where  they  remained 
for  a  year.  T.  H.  B. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 

OF     THE 

REV.    JAMES    RAMSEY,    D.    D 

A  Trustee  of  Jefferson  College,  and  Professor  of  Hebrew. 


BY    REV.    DE.     THOMAS    BEVERIDGE. 


[Abridged  from  the  "Evangelical  Repository."] 


The  Rev.  James  Ramsey,  D.  D.,  was  born  March  23d, 
1771,  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania.  His  parents, 
Robert  and  Mary  Ramsey,  belonged,  at  the  time  of  his  birth, 
to  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  or  Covenanters,  and 
sustained  throughout  their  lives  a  good  reputation  for  intelli- 
gence and  piety.  Mr.  Robert  Ramsey,  after  his  removal  to 
the  West,  was  for  many  years  an  elder  of  respectable  stand- 
ing in  the  Associate  congregation  of  King's  Creek,  Beaver 
county,  Pennsylvania,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  venerable 
Dr.  John  Anderson.  Both  parents  lived  to  an  advanced  age, 
and  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  their  children,  and  many 
of  their  children's  children  settled  around  them,  and  gener- 
ally following  their  footsteps  in  the  ways  of  righteousness. 
James,  the  subject  of  this  notice,  was  the  first  born  of  fifteen 
children,  the  larger  number  of  whom  he  survived.  About 
two  years  after  his  birth,  his  parents  removed  from  Lancaster 
county  to  what  was  then  known  as  the  western  wilderness, 
and  resided  about  two  years  at  Williamsport,  on  the  Monon- 
gahela  river.     At  this  time   (1773)   the  settlements  in  this 

(252) 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  DR.    RAMSEY.  253 

region  were  few  and  scattered.  The  Indians  were  frequently 
troublesome,  and  rendered  the  protection  of  forts  necessary. 
Mr.  Eamsey  pursued  his  labors  in  the  vicinity  of  one  of  these 
forts.  His  custom  was  to  take  his  gun  with  him  into  the  corn 
field,  and  place  it  at  the  root  of  a  tree  or  against  a  stump. 
He  would  then  hoe  around  the  place  to  the  distance  of  fifteen 
or  twenty  yards.  This  done,  another  resting  place  for  his 
gun  was  selected,  and  his  labor  around  it  performed  in  the 
same  manner ;  thus  keeping  himself  always  ready  for  defence 
against  any  sudden  attack.  It  was  amidst  these  scenes  of 
danger,  and  those  of  the  revolution  which  immediately  fol- 
lowed, and  amidst  the  hardships  and  privations  of  a  pioneer's 
life,  that  James  first  formed  his  acquaintance  with  the  world ; 
and  these  things  no  doubt  contributed  in  giving  to  him  that 
patience,  that  power  of  endurance,  and  that  energy  of  char- 
acter, for  which  he  was  afterwards  distinguished. 

At  the  end  of  two  years,  the  family  removed  from  Wil- 
liamsport  to  Pigeon  Creek,  then  within  the  bounds  of  the 
congregation  of  the  venerable  Dr.  M'Millan,  so  distinguished 
in  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  West,  as 
one  of  its  first  and  most  eminent  pioneers.  With  this  church 
the  parents  connected  themselves.  Their  son  James  was  also 
admitted  as  a  member  at  a  very  early  period  of  life ;  and 
though  afterwards  connected  with  another  branch  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  he  always  entertained  a  very  great  regard 
for  his  former  brethren,  and  especially  for  Dr.  M'Millan,  whom 
he  considered  as  his  spiritual  father. 

When  Mr  Ramsey  became  a  member  of  Dr.  M'Millan's 
church,  he  must  have  been  under  twenty-one  years  of  age,  as 
j  this  was  his  age  when  he  removed  to  another  part  of  the 
country.  Yet  young  as  he  was,  he  exerted  himself  actively 
and  faithfully  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  both  in  relation  to  the 
interests  of  truth  and  of  practical  godliness.  Many  of  the 
young  people  were  very  careless  as  to  spiritual  things,  and 
indulged  freely  in  promiscuous  dancing,  and  other  practices 
22 


254  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

inconsistent  with  a  religious  profession.  To  promote  a  better 
spirit  and  put  an  end  to  these  practices,  he  had  the  prudence 
and  address  to  collect  them  into  one  or  more  societies  for  prayer 
and  religious  conference.  In  this  way  he  exercised  a  happy 
influence  upon  the  religious  character  of  the  congregation, 
and  gave  an  early  indication  of  that  spirit  which  he  manifested 
in  his  future  life.  During  his  connection  with  this  congrega- 
tion, a  controversy  arose  among  the  people,  in  relation  to  what 
have  been  called  the  Marrow  doctrines,  i.  e.  certain  doctrines 
taught  in  a  book  called  the  Marrow  of  Modern  Divinity  ;  such 
as  that  there  is  a  gift  or  grant  of  Christ  in  the  Gospel  to  sin- 
ners of  mankind  as  such ;  that  believers  are  delivered  from 
the  law  as  a  covenant  of  works ;  and  that  holiness  is  not  a 
federal  means  or  condition  of  life.  Mr.  Ramsey  and  others 
of  the  congregation  warmly  advocated  these  doctrines.  Dr. 
McMillan  at  first  appeared  also  to  favor,  but  at  last  rather 
opposed  them.  This  laid  the  foundation  for  Mr.  Ramsey's 
ultimate  separation  from  that  church,  and  accounts  for  the 
zeal  which  he  ever  afterwards  showed  for  these  precious  truths. 
According  to  the  recollections  of  his  nearest  friends,  it  would 
however  appear  that  he  had  not  formally  withdrawn  from  the 
communion  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  till  after  his  removal 
to  Mill  Creek. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  made  a  joint  purchase  of  a 
farm,  two  miles  from  the  village  of  Frankfort,  Beaver  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  removed  to  it  with  his  brother  William. 
This  was  within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbyterian  congregation 
of  Mill  Creek,  and  here,  after  some  time,  other  circumstances 
occurred  which  issued  in  the  change  of  his  religious  profes- 
sion. About  this  time  there  was  in  the  Presbyterian  churches 
of  the  West  a  very  general  substitution  of  hymns  of  human 
composition  in  the  room  of  the  Psalms,  which  had  hitherto 
been  employed  in  the  worship  of  G-od.  Mr.  Ramsey  endeav- 
ored for  some  time  to  reconcile  himself  to  the  use  of  these 
hymns,  and,  in  his  own  language,  had  "  tried  to  sing  them." 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OP   DR.    RAMSEY.  255 

But  this  either  was  from  the  first,  or  soon  came  to  be  against 
his  convictions  of  duty,  and  his  conscience  would  not  let  him 
alone.  However  different  the  views  of  Christians  may  be  on 
the  merits  of  this  question,  none  who  knew  him  will  have 
any  doubt  as  to  his  conscientiousness  in  the  decision  to  which 
he  came  to  give  the  preference  to  the  Psalms  over  all  human 
productions.  Indeed,  few  things  in  his  life  manifested  more 
clearly  the  power  of  his  convictions  of  duty,  than  the  change 
which  he  felt  constrained  to  make  in  his  profession.  He  was 
at  this  time  a  young  man  somewhat  ardent  in  his  tempera- 
ment, and  much  more  likely  to  be  seduced  by  the  love  of 
novelty  than  those  advanced  in  years,  who  so  often  become 
the  slaves  of  prejudice  and  habit.  Being  an  excellent  singer, 
and  passionately  fond  of  music,  (which  he  occasionally  taught,) 
he  was  the  more  liable  to  be  captivated  by  the  improvements 
in  singing  with  which  the  introduction  of  the  hymns  was 
accompanied.  But  most  of  all,  he  was  of  a  peculiarly  affec- 
tionate disposition,  and  was  in-  high  esteem  among  the  breth- 
ren with  whom  he  was  connected.  Although  a  youth,  and 
remarkable  for  modesty  and  diffidence,  he  had  been  taken  into 
the  society  of  ministers,  elders,  and  such  as  were  in  the  high- 
est reputation  for  piety.  He  was  treated  by  them  as  an  equal, 
and  enjoyed  their  confidence.  He  was  accustomed  to  speak 
of  the  change  of  his  religious  profession  under  these  circum- 
stances as  one  of  the  sorest  trials  of  his  life ;  and  has  frankly 
owned  to  his  intimate  friends  that  when  he  left  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  he  left  his  heart  behind  him.  He  always  regarded 
that  Society  as  very  exemplary  in  their  affectionate  treatment 
of  each  other,  and  thought  them,  in  this  respect,  commendable 
beyond  many  others,  of  whom  equal,  if  not  better  things, 
might  have  been  expected.  As  a  proof  of  the  high  esteem 
in  which  Mr.  Ramsey  was  held  among  his  Presbyterian  breth- 
ren may  be  mentioned  the  language  employed  by  Dr.  M'Millan 
to  induce  him  to  remain  in  their  communion  :  u  James,"  said 


256  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

he,  "  you  will  be  a  minister  some  of  these  days ;  yes,  and  you 
will  be  a  bright  star  in  the  West." 

The  account  which  he  was  accustomed  to  give  of  his  sepa- 
ration from  that  branch  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  with 
which  he  had  been  connected  was  substantially  this.  Various 
expedients  had  been  employed  to  reconcile  him  and  others  to 
the  introduction  of  the  hymns ;  such  as  employing  them  on 
more  private  occasions,  and  using  them  alternately  with  the 
Psalms  in  the  public  worship  of  the  church.  On  the  last 
sacramental  occasion  which  he  attended  in  that  church  the 
hymns  were  sung  at  tables  occupied  by  those  who  preferred 
them,  and  the  Psalms  at  one  or  more  tables  set  for  those  who 
were  opposed  to  the  hymns.  This,  instead  of  satisfying, 
rather  disgusted  him,  and  he  came  to  the  resolution  that  he 
would  use  the  hymns  no  more.  During  the  occasion  he  lodged 
at  the  house  of  Mr.  George  M'Cullough,  in  company  with  a 
number  of  others,  among  whom  were  the  Rev.  Mr.  Marquis 
and  Mr.  Jackson,  an  aged  elder  of  the  church.  When  the 
time  for  worship  in  the  family  arrived,  Mr.  Jackson  was  called 
upon  to  lead,  and  the  Bible  and  hymn-book  were  laid  down 
before  him.  Mr.  Ramsey,  who,  as  we  have  said,  was  extremely 
modest  and  diffident,  was  much  perplexed.  The  elder  was 
accustomed,  when  Mr.  Ramsey  was  present,  to  call  on  him  to 
lead  in  singing,  and  would  no  doubt  do  so  now.  But  he  had 
come  to  a  fixed  resolution  that  he  would  not  use  the  hymns. 
Yet  he  was  very  unwilling  to  bring  either  himself  or  his  scru- 
ples into  notice  before  the  company.  He  had  watched  with 
a  keen  eye  and  an  anxious  heart  what  was  passing,  and  as 
soon  as  Mr.  Jackson  sat  down  at  the  table,  he  stepped  up  to 
him  as  quietly  as  possible,  and  whispered,  that  if  he  called  on 
him  to  sing,  he  wished  him  to  use  the  Psalms,  as  be  did  not 
feel  at  liberty  to  join  in  singing  the  hymns.  However,  the 
elder,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  the  modest  youth,  spoke 
aloud  of  the  difficulty,  and  observed  that  he  believed  there 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   DR.    RAMSEY.  257 

was  no  Bible  with  Psalms  in  the  house.  Mr.  Ramsey  imme- 
diately produced  his  own  pocket  Bible  containing  them,  of 
which  the  elder  made  use.  After  worship,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mai-- 
quis  observed  that  it  was  not  a  suitable  time  to  enter  into  any 
controversy  on  the  subject  of  the  hymns.  He  would,  how- 
ever, make  one  remark  for  Mr.  Ramsey's  consideration. 
"  Very  many,"  said  he,  "  who  have  had  scruples  at  the  first 
about  singing  the  hymns,  after  having  used  them  for  awhile 
have  overcome  their  scruples,  and  become  quite  satisfied." 
Mr.  Ramsey,  however,  could  not  feel  at  liberty  to  venture  on 
such  an  experiment  for  obtaining  relief.  He  soon  afterwards 
united  with  the  Associate  congregations  of  Service  and  King's 
Creek,  then  and  for  many  years  afterwards  under  the  pastoral 
care  of  Br.  Anderson,  professor  of  theology  in  the  Associate 
Church.  His  change  of  ecclesiastical  connexion,  as  it  origi- 
nated in  no  strife  or  ill  temper,  so  it  was  attended  with  nothing 
of  this  kind.  On  the  contrary,  the  most  friendly  feelings 
continued  between  him  and  his  former  associates.  He  was  a 
man  who  could,  both  in  his  private  life  and  public  ministra- 
tions, be  faithful  to  his  convictions  of  duty  without  being  ill 
tempered  or  censorious. 

At  what  period  of  his  life  his  thoughts  were  turned  towards 
the  ministry  is  not  known,  but  before  his  connection  with  the 
Associate  Church,  he  had  been  preparing  the  way  for  obtain- 
ing an  education  with  a  view  to  that  office.  He  had  sold  his 
interest  in  the  farm  on  which  he  had  lived  with  his  brother, 
to  his  father,  who  afterwards  removed  to  it,  and  resided  on  it 
till  his  death.  He  also  engaged  in  teaching  schools  of  differ- 
ent kinds ;  and  by  these  means  obtained  sufficient  money  to 
meet  the  expenses  of  his  education,  and  had  when  licensed 
enough  left  to  equip  himself  for  traveling.  It  is  thought 
probable  that  he  commenced  his  classical  studies  under  his 
minister,  Br.  Anderson,  about  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  his 
age.  He  afterwards  studied  at  the  Jefferson  Academy,  since 
incorporated  as  Jefferson  College.  Soon  after  its  incorpora- 
22* 


258  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

tion  as  a  college,  he  received  from  this  institution  the  second 
degree  in  the  arts.  This  was  in  the  year  1805  ;  and  some 
time  about  the  year  1824,  he  received,  probably  from  Dickin- 
son College,  Carlisle,  the  honorary  degree  of  doctor  of  divin- 
ity, a  title  which  would  be  in  higher  repute  if  always  as 
meritoriously  conferred.  After  completing  his  classical  stu- 
dies, he  pursued  the  study  of  theology  under  Dr.  John  An- 
derson ;  this  must  have  been  between  the  years  1800  and 
1803.  lie  was  peculiarly  beloved  by  his  professor,  and  the 
warmest  attachment  continued  between  them,  until  the  decease 
of  Dr.  Anderson,  April,  1830. 

Dr.  Ramsey  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Chartiers 
at  the  same  time  with  the  late  Rev.  David  Imbrie,  December 
14th,  1803,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Ralston,  in  Buffalo.  As  he 
was  at  this  time  within  a  few  months  of  completing  his  thirty- 
third  year,  and  his  preparatory  course  of  study  had  not 
been  hurried,  but  as  thorough  as  the  circumstances  of  the 
country  would  well  admit,  he  entered  on  his  ministerial  labors 
with  more  maturity  of  mind,  with  more  enlarged  Christian 
experience,  and  better  preparation,  than  are  common  to  those 
beginning  this  work,  and  his  ministry  from  the  first  proved 
every  where  highly  acceptable  to  the  intelligent  and  godly. 
He  labored,  during  the  months  of  December  and  January 
after  his  licensure,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Chartiers,  and  then 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  remainder  of  the  year  1804  in  the 
Presbyteries  of  Cambridge  and  Philadelphia.  At  the  close 
of  this  year  he  returned  to  Chartiers,  and  labored  in  the 
bounds  of  that  Presbytery  till  his  settlement.  A  unanimous 
and  pressing  call  was  given  to  him  to  take  charge  of  the  Asso- 
ciate congregation  of  Cambridge,  New  York,  then  left  vacant 
by  the  removal  of  Dr.  Banks ;  and  the  people  were  exceed- 
ingly grieved  at  their  failure  to  obtain  him  as  their  pastor. 
For  3Tears  afterwards  they  were  accustomed  to  lament  their 
disappointment,  and  they  continued  to  cherish  his  memory 
with  peculiar   fondness.     Shortly  before  his  return    to   the 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   DR.    RAMSEY.  259 

West,  a  petition  from  the  congregation  and  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia,  was  laid  before  the  Presbytery  of  Chartiers, 
earnestly  soliciting  that  he  might  be  continued  in  Philadel- 
phia till  the  next  meeting  of  the  Synod,  which  request,  how- 
ever, the  Presbytery,  owing  to  the  urgent  demand  upon  them 
for  supplies,  found  themselves  unable  to  grant.  At  the  meet- 
ing of  this  Presbytery,  April  17th,  1805,  four  calls  were 
presented  to  him,  or  rather  three,  and  notice  given  of  a  fourth  ; 
one  from  the  united  congregations  of  Mount  Pleasant  and 
Burgettstown,  one  from  Beaver  and  Brush  Run,  one  from 
Cambridge,  New  York,  and  one  from  Chartiers.  The  last-of 
these  was  accepted,  although  the  worldly  advantages  connected 
with  some  of  the  other  calls  were  much  greater.  He  was 
ordained  and  settled  as  pastor  of  the  Associate  congregation 
of  Chartiers  on  the  fourth  of  the  following  September.  The 
Rev.  Thomas  Allison  preached  on  the  occasion  from  2  Cor. 
viii :  23, — "  Our  brethren — the  messengers  of  the  churches, 
and  the  glory  of  Christ."  He  also,  as  was  the  custom  of  the 
times,  gave  the  charge  to  the  pastor,  elders,  and  members  of 
the  congregation.  Dr.  Anderson  preached  in  the  evening 
from  Ps.  cii :  16, — "  When  the  Lord  shall  build  up  Zion  he 
will  appear  in  his  glory." 

When  Dr.  Ramsey  commenced  his  pastoral  labors  in  this 
congregation,  not  only  the  people  but  the  Presbytery  were  in 
a  very  distracted  state  in  consequence  of  dissensions  which 
had  arisen  in  Chartiers  between  the  people  and  their  former 
pastor,  the  Rev.  John  Smith,  and  also  between  the  people  of 
Buffalo  and  their  pastor,  the  Rev.  Robert  Laing.  These 
troubles  had  occasioned  frequent  and  protracted  meetings  of 
the  Presbytery,  and  some  stormy  debates.  At  the  very  time 
that  Dr.  Ramsey  was  licensed,  the  Presbytery  continued  four 
days  in  session,  and  such  protracted  meetings  were  not  uncom- 
mon. These  contentions  had  divided  the  people  into  parties, 
and  the  issue  was  the  separation  of  some  valuable  members 
from  both  congregations.     These  and  other  things  had  also  con- 


260  niSTOUY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

tributed  to  weaken,  in  those  who  remained,  their  attachment 
to  their  profession  ;  so  that  the  commencement  of  the  Doctor's 
labors  was  in  the  midst  of  difficulties.  But  his  prudence  and 
faithfulness  soon  surmounted  them,  and  in  a  little  time  he 
was  established  in  the  affections  and  confidence  of  the  people, 
to  an  extent  altogether  uncommon.  The  hearts  of  the  minis- 
ter and  people  were  so  knit  together  that  it  seemed  a  thing 
impossible  that  they  could  ever  be  sundered.  Soon  after  his 
settlement  he  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Paxton,  a  lady 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania.  They 
became  the  parents  of  two  children,  the  Rev.  James  P.  Ram- 
sey, pastor  of  the  Associate  congregation  of  Deer  Creek, 
Lawrence  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maria,  wife  of  the  Rev. 
William  M.  M'Elwee,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  Associate  congre- 
gation of  Frankfort,  Beaver  county,  Pennsylvania.  These, 
together  with  Mrs.  Ramsey,  still  survive. 

After  Dr.  Ramsey's  settlement  he  applied  himself  diligently 
to  the  duties  of  his  pastoral  office,  not  only  preaching  rcgu* 
larly  upon  the  Sabbath,  and  occasionally  on  other  days  of  the 
week,  but  catechizing  and  visiting  from  house  to  house,  which 
latter  duties  he  attended  to  in  the  winter,  in  order  to  interfere 
as  little  as  possible  with  the  worldly  business  of  his  people. 
This,  considering  the  size  of  the  congregation,  the  inclemency 
of  the  season,  and  the  almost  impassable  condition  of  the 
roads  during  much  of  the  winter,  rendered  these  duties  exceed- 
ingly laborious.  But  he  was  not  one  of  those  who  much 
regarded  exposures  of  this  kind.  If  it  ever  occurred  at  all,  it 
must  have  been  very  rarely,  that  he  was  seen  with  an  umbrella 
over  his  head  to  protect  him  either  from  heat  or  rain.  Even 
when  quite  aged,  he  would  rise  long  before  day,  and  set  out, 
upon  a  journey,  in  the  coldest  weather,  and  very  often  with- 
out even  taking  the  precaution  to  button  his  overcoat.  He 
was  particularly  faithful  in  visiting  the  sick,  and  had  many 
calls  of  this  kind  to  attend  to  among  his  own  people  and 
others.     Until  quite  disqualified  by  age,  he  was  very  punctual 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP   DR.    RAMSEY.  261 

in  his  attendance  upon  the  meetings  of  his  Presbytery,  and 
of  the  Synod;  and  in  these  courts  his  zeal  in  the  cause  of 
truth,  tempered  as  it  was  by  kindness,  his  readiness  in  form- 
ing a  correct  opinion  upon  the  merits  of  questions,  the  clear- 
ness with  which  he  was  able  to  express  himself,  and  his 
peculiar  talent  for  exposing  wrong  doings,  rendered  him  a 
most  useful  member.  For  more  than  forty  years  after  his 
ordination,  he  never  failed  attending  the  meetings  of  Synod, 
whether  near  or  remote,  except  once  or  at  most  twice,  when 
providentially  hindered.  The  last  meeting  he  attended  was 
at  Allegheny,  in  1852,  and  his  infirmities  at  that  time  obliged 
him  to  return  home  before  the  close  of  the  session.  His 
salary  was  small,  the  journeys  frequently  tedious  and  expen- 
sive, but  such  was  his  interest  in  the  cause  of  Cbrist,  that  he 
could  not  feel  satisfied  to  neglect  the  meetings  of  the  courts 
of  his  house,  when  it  was  at  all  practicable  to  attend. 

In  the  sixteenth  year  of  his  ministry  he  was  called  to  a 
post  of  increased  responsibility.  In  1819,  Dr.  Anderson, 
owing  to  the  infirmities  of  age,  felt  the  necessity  of  resigning 
the  professorship  of  theology,  which  he  had  held  for  about 
twenty-five  years.  His  resignation  being  accepted,  the  Synod 
at  their  next  meeting,  at  Huntingdon,  1820,  agreed  to  estab- 
lish two  seminaries,  to  be  called  the  Eastern  and  Western. 
The  Rev.  John  Banks,  D.  D.,  was  unanimously  elected  pro- 
fessor of  the  Eastern  Seminary,  and  the  election  of  a  professor 
of  the  Western  was  postponed  till  the  next  meeting  at  Pitts- 
burgh, when  the  western  members  would  be  more  generally 
present.  At  this  meeting,  1821,  though  another  candidate 
was  named  beside  him,  Dr.  Ramsey  was  elected  by  a  large 
majority;  and  in  the  ensuing  winter  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  his  new  office,  being  at  this  time  fifty  years  of  age.  This 
post,  in  connection  with  his  pastoral  duties  in  a  large  congre- 
gation, no  part  of  which  he  remitted,  rendered  his  subsequent 
life  very  laborious.  To  his  other  offices  was  added  the  pro- 
fessorship of  Hebrew  in  Jefferson  College,  which  however  did 


262  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

not  occupy  much  of  bis  time  and  attention.  The  Doctor  at 
this  time  resided  on  a  farm  about  a  mile  from  Canonsburg, 
and  read  lectures  to  his  students  at  his  own  bouse,  and  in 
consequence  of  his  situation  he  was  obliged  to  receive  all  or 
most  of  the  students  into  his  house  as  boarders.  They  had 
thus  not  only  the  advantage  of  his  public  instructions,  but  of 
his  excellent  example  and  instructive  conversation  in  private, 
which  was  by  no  means  inconsiderable.  It  is  well  known 
that  his  remarks  in  private,  made  in  his  own  peculiar  way, 
were  highly  entertaining  and  useful.  In  some  instances  they 
have  been  known  to  produce  on  the  minds  of  young  men 
impressions  causing  a  happy  change  in  their  whole  course  of 
life.  It  was  by  one  of  these  remarks,  serious  in  import,  but 
made  in  something  of  a  jesting  manner,  that  the  late  Rev. 
D.  G.  was  cured  of  a  tendency  to  excessive  liberalism  in  his 
religious  views;  and  the  cure  proved  to  be  thorough  and  per- 
manent. The  conversation  at  the  table  among  the  young 
men,  chiefly  college  students,  had  turned  upon  a  late  revival 
which  had  taken  place  at  Baltimore.  The  Doctor,  who  had 
for  some  time  been  silent,  at  last  inquired  about  the  people 
who  were  the  subjects  of  it.  One  of  the  young  men,  a  Pres- 
byterian by  profession,  replied  that  he  believed  they  were 
chiefly  Methodists.  "Oh!"  said  the  Doctor,  "I  am  glad  to 
hear  of  a  revival,  and  especially  among  the  Methodists ;  we 
know  that  some  of  their  doctrines  are  erroneous,  and  no  doubt, 
when  a  revival  takes  place  among  them,  they  will  renounce 
their  errors.  I  hope,"  added  he,  "  they  have  all  joined  the 
Presbyterian  Church."  The  young  man,  considerably  con- 
fused, was  obliged  to  admit  that  they  had  not.  The  Doctor 
pursued  the  conversation  no  further,  but  it  at  least  led  Mr. 
C.  into  a  train  of  reflections  which  had  an  important  influence 
upon  his  future  course  of  life.  The  late  Rev.  Professor  K. 
also  attributed  to  Dr.  Ramsey  his  first  serious  impressions. 
He  had  lived  in  the  neglect  of  religion,  and  perhaps  was  some- 
what more  than  commonly  careless  about  spiritual  things,  till, 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  DR.   RAMSEY.  263 

while  a  student  in  the  college,  he  became  a  boarder  in  the 
Doctor's  family.  Hjre  the  example,  prayers,  and  conversa- 
tion of  the  Doctor  convinced  him  that  there  were  a  truth, 
power,  and  excellence  in  religion  which  he  had  not  before 
perceive] 

As  the  number  of  the  students  increased,  the  boarding  of 
so  many  became  oppressive  to  Mrs.  Ramsey,  and  the  Doctor 
removed  from  his  farm  into  Canonsburg.  He  also  added  to 
the  house  which  he  had  purchased  an  apartment  built  at  his 
own  expense  for  the  use  of  the  students.  Still  a  number  of 
them  continued  to  board  with  him,  but  his  situation  now  freed 
him  from  the  necessity  of  taking  more  than  suited  the  con- 
venience of  his  family.  After  the  death  of  Dr.  Banks,  in 
1826,  the  Synod  agreed,  in  1828,  to  unite  the  two  theological 
seminaries  ;  in  1880  they  fixed  upon  Canonsburg  as  the  place, 
and  the  next  year  elected  Dr.  Ramsey  professor  in  the  united 
institution.  At  this  time  the  Synod  engaged  in  the  erection 
of  a  suitable  building  for  the  seminary,  which  was  completed 
about  the  year  1834.  The  site  selected  was  a  beautiful  one, 
on  a  level  tract  of  ground  half  a  mile  west  of  the  village. 
The  building  was  sufficiently  large  and  substantial,  but  not 
well  arranged,  nor  constructed  with  good  taste.  Soon  after 
this  the  congregation  found  it  necessary  to  erect  a  new  church, 
instead  of  the  old  and  delapidated  stone  building  which  had 
been  occupied  for  about  fifty  years  by  the  Doctor  and  his  pre- 
decessors. This  new  church  the  Doctor  and  his  congregation 
entered  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1836.  Some  years  before 
this  the  Synod  agreed  to  establish  a  second  professorship, 
which  however  was  not  actually  filled  till  the  winter  of  this 
year.  As  this  professorship  embraced  branches  of  study  not 
taught  by  the  Doctor,  it  did  not  materially  lessen  his  labors, 
he  continued  to  attend  to  the  duties  of  his  professorship  till 
the  meeting  of  the  Synod  at  Washington,  1841,  when  he 
gave  notice  of  his  intention  to  resign.  This  was  in  confor- 
mity with  a  resolution  adopted  by  him  long  before.     Having 


204  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE 

noticed  that  public  men,  when  far  advanced  in  years,  and 
failed  both  in  body  and  mind,  would  often  cling  with  childish 
fondness  to  an  office  for  which  they  had  become  totally  unfit, 
he  had  formed  and  often  expressed  his  resolution,  that  if  he 
■were  spared  in  life,  and  retained  in  office  till  the  age  of  sev- 
enty, he  would  then  resign.  He  had  made  a  kind  of  cove- 
nant with  himself  to  pay  no  regard  to  his  opinion  on  this 
subject  at  seventy,  but  to  act  according  to  his  previous  judg- 
ment and  resolution.  There  was  indeed  no  perceptible  failure 
of  his  mind  at  this  time,  and  but  little  for  years  afterwards. 
To  the  very  close  of  his  life,  with  occasional  exceptions,  caused 
by  bodily  debility,  he  retained  in  an  uncommon  degree  his 
judgment,  his  memory,  and  the  life  and  energy  of  his  earlier 
years.  Yet  he  considered  it  best  to  adhere  to  his  resolution, 
and  -agreeably  to  the  notice  given  at  Washington,  he  presented 
the  resignation  of  his  office  to  the  Synod  at  Xenia,  1842. 
His  resignation  was  accepted,  and  the  Synod  testified  by  a 
resolution  their  "  sense  of  the  high  obligations  they  Avere 
under  to  him  for  his  long  and  faithful  services  as  professor." 
He  still  continued  in  his  pastoral  relation,  and  was  able  for 
several  years  more  to  attend  to  all  his  ministerial  duties. 
Instead  of  any  failure,  it  seemed  as  if  his  zeal  and  power  in 
preaching  the  gospel  increased  with  his  years.  Some  of  the 
sermons  preached  towards  the  last  of  his  days  were  of  uncom- 
mon excellence,  and  were  delivered  with  great  fervor  of  spirit. 
He  felt  himself,  and  made  his  hearers  feel,  that  he  was  speak- 
ing as  one  upon  the  brink  of  the  eternal  world.  In  June, 
1849,  owing  to  his  increasing  infirmities,  he  felt  it  necessary 
to  urge  the  acceptance  of  the  resignation  of  his  pastoral  charge, 
which  had  been  previously  offered,  but  the  consideration  of 
which  had  been  delayed  by  the  Presbytery  in  compliance  with 
a  petition  from  the  congregation.  They  had  requested  the 
continuance  of  the  pastoral  relation,  and  that  arrangements 
might  be  made  for  the  supply  of  his  pulpit,  so  far  as  hia 
declining  health  might  render  necessary.     At  the  time  referred 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP   DR.    RAMSEY.  265 

to,  he  however  urged  the  acceptance  of  his  resignation,  and 
was  accordingly  released  from  his  charge.  The  congregation, 
in  signifying  their  acquiescence,  testified  their  high  apprecia- 
tion of  his  long  and  faithful  services  among  them.  He  had 
been  their  pastor  for  something  more  than  forty-four  years. 
He  had  never  spared  himself  in  his  labors  among  them.  He 
had  been  with  them  as  a  sympathizing  friend,  a  wise  counselor, 
and  an  able  comforter  in  all  their  troubles.  The  reputa- 
tion of  many  of  his  people  for  intelligence  and  piety  had  long 
borne  honorable  testimony  to  the  faithfulness  of  his  instruc- 
tions. The  larger  portion  of  them  had  been  brought  up  under 
his  ministry  from  their  youth.  He  had  buried  their  fathers. 
He  had  in  many  cases  baptized  and  married  parents  and  their 
children  after  them.  He  had  been  as  a  father  among  them, 
feeling  any  injurious  reflections  cast  upon  them,  or  any  evil 
befalling  them,  as  a  parent  would  feel  in  like  cases  for  a  child. 
And,  notwithstanding  the  occurrence  of  some  things  trying 
to  his  affections,  he  cherished  to  the  last  the  liveliest  interest 
in  their  welfare.  It  would  be  strange,  and  far  from  a  favora- 
ble indication  of  the  religious  character  of  a  people,  if  such 
t  man  should  not  be  long  held  in  the  most  honorable  and 
grateful  remembrance. 

Some  time  after  resigning  his  professorship  the  Doctor 
returned  to  the  farm  which  he  had  left  for  the  sake  of  the 
students,  and  continued  to  reside  on  it  till  about  eighteen 
months  before  his  death,  when  he  and  Mrs.  Ilamsey,  becoming 
too  frail  to  attend  to  their  domestic  affairs,  removed  to  Frank- 
fort, and  resided  with  their  son-in-law,  Dr.  M'Elwee,  near  the 
scenes  of  the  Doctor's  youth,  the  abodes  of  many  of  his  rela- 
tives, and  the  grave  of  his  father,  beside  whom,  during  the 
last  years  of  his  life,  he  had  repeatedly  expressed  his  desire 
to  be  interred.  He  still  continued,  though  in  his  eighty- 
fourth  year,  to  exercise  his  ministry  occasionally  in  the  pulpit 
of  his  son-in-law ;  and  though  feeble  in  body,  was  still  cheer- 
ful and  even  lively  in  conversation.  Three  weeks  before  his 
23 


266  HISTORY    Of   JKtf'EKSON    COLLEGil. 

death,  he  was  taken  with  cholera  morbus  when  about  to  lie 
down  for  the  night.  He  was  able  to  be  up  in  the  morning, 
but  complained  of  headache,  and  appeared  very  dull  and 
feeble.  After  a  few  days  he  recovered  from  this  attack,  but 
wasted  away  under  an  infirmity  from  which  he  had  suffered 
for  many  years.  On  the  last  Sabbath  of  February,  which 
proved  to  be  a  very  severe  day,  he  attended  church,  and  in 
common  with  many  others  took  a  cold,  which  rendered  him 
exceedingly  hoarse.  On  Thursday  morning  he  arose  somewhat 
better,  and  Mr.  Duncan,  a  gentleman  from  Pittsburgh,  being 
a  visitor  in  the  family,  he  joined  in  conversation,  and  was 
quite  lively  and  cheerful.  But  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock 
of  that  forenoon,  he  was  seized  with  a  chill  followed  by  fever; 
which  soon  prostrated  him  both  in  body  and  mind,  and  occa 
sioned  some  apprehensions  of  immediate  death.  On  Saturday 
morning  about  the  same  time  of  day,  he  had  another  attack 
of  the  same  kind,  and  became  unable  to  speak  intelligibly. 
He  continued  to  sink  rapidly  till  five  o'clock  Sabbath  morn- 
ing, when  the  family  were  called  together  to  witness  his  death. 
It  was  thought  he  would  not  live  till  the  hour  of  public  wor- 
ship, but  about  nine  o'clock  he  revived,  and  appeared  pretty 
clear  in  his  mind,  and  more  vigorous  in  body  throughout  the 
remainder  of  that  day  and  the  following  night.  On  Monday 
morning  he  appeared  more  dull,  and  without  any  known  cause, 
at  nine  or  ten  o'clock  he  became  visibly  worse,  and,  in  despite 
of  stimulants,  continued  to  sink,  till  at  five  o'clock,  Tuesday 
morning,  March  6th,  when  he  breathed  his  last.  He  lacked 
but  a  few  days  of  having  completed  his  eighty-fourth  year. 
On  the  Sabbath  morning  immediately  preceding  his  departure, 
he  called  for  the  reading  of  Isa.  xlvi.,  in  which  that  precious 
promise  occurs,  "  And  even  to  your  old  age  I  am  He,  and 
even  to  hoar  hairs  will  I  carry  you,"  &c.  The  friend  who 
has  communicated  these  particulars  of  his  last  illness,  has 
not  related  any  thing  of  the  exercise  of  Dr.  Ramsey's  mind 
in  the  immediate  view  of  death  ;  and  it  is  very  probable  that 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  DR.    RAMSEY.  267 

owing  to  the  feeble  and  wandering  state  of  his  mind,  he  was 
unfitted  for  much  conversation.  Besides,  had  it  been  other- 
wise, it  would  not  be  inconsistent  with  the  Doctor's  general 
character  to  suppose  that  he  said  but  little  on  this  subject. 
His  modesty  appeared  in  his  religion  as  well  as  in  every  thing 
else.  For  several  years  he  had  been  calmly  awaiting  his  dis- 
charge, and  spoke  of  it  frequently  and  freely,  and  with  the 
utmost  quietude  and  contentment  of  mind,  even  as  he  would 
have  spoken  of  a  journey  homewards  ;  but  he  was  so  far  from 
a  spirit  of  boasting,  that  he  even  seemed  to  be  altogether 
reserved  in  respect  to  his  own  religious  experience.  He  had 
evidently  made  himself  familiar  with  death,  and  was  prepared 
to  meet  him,  not  as  an  enemy,  but  as  a  welcome  messenger 
of  Christ.  His  holy  life  was  better  evidence  of  preparation 
than  any  death-bed  professions. 

On  the  Thursday  after  his  decease,  his  mortal  part  was  laid  in 
the  grave-yard  of  the  Associate  congregation  of  Frankfort. 
Notice  of  the  time  of  his  funeral  had  not  reached  his  late 
congregation  in  season ;  otherwise,  no  doubt,  a  large  number 
of  them,  notwithstanding  the  distance,  bad  weather,  and  bad 
roads,  would  have  attended. 

The  reader  may  easily  infer  from  the  preceding  sketch  of 
Dr.  Ramsey's  life,  that  he  was  a  man  of  more  than  common 
excellence,  and  may  also  perceive  what  many  of  his  particu- 
lar excellencies  were.  Yet  it  is  hoped  that  it  will  neither  be 
without  interest  or  profit,  to  exhibit  some  of  the  traits  of  his 
character  more  fully  than  could  well  be  done  in  the  mere 
detail  of  the  events  of  his  life. 

Some  of  these  traits  of  character  were  strikingly  exhibited 
in  his  countenance  and  general  appearance.  He  was  quite 
tall  and  slender,  and  not  altogether  graceful  in  his  movements, 
but  it  is  rarely  that  a  countenance  meets  our  view  in  which 
are  indicated,  with  such  distinctness,  and  in  such  agreeable 
harmony,  quickness  of  discernment,  mildness  of  temper, 
aflectionateness  of   disposition,    and  contentment   of  mind. 


268  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

Few  persons,  even  in  their  youth,  have  countenances  so  little 
marked  with  the  lines  of  care,  anxiety,  and  passion,  as  he 
had,  even  in  extreme  old  age.  Little  children,  of  whom  he 
was  very  fond,  were  attracted  to  him  at  once  by  the  kindness 
and  cheerfulness  so  apparent  in  the  expression  of  his  counte- 
nance, in  his  conversation  and  whole  deportment.  There 
were  also  blended  with  these  indications,  such  seriousness  and 
gravity,  as  ensured  respect  and  gave  force  to  his  ministry. 

The  Doctor  had  a  natural  amiableness  of  disposition  which 
had  been  much  improved  by  grace.  In  some  the  chief 
work  of  grace  appears  to  be  to  contend  with  corruptions,  and 
its  power  and  excellence  appear  in  the  victory  gained  over 
them.  In  him  there  seemed  less  for  grace  to  effect  in  this 
way  than  in  ordinary  cases.  His  mind  did  not  appear  so 
much  like  a  field  grown  over  with  thorns  and  briars,  to  be 
rooted  out  before  the  good  seed  could  be  sown,  as  like  a  field 
ready  to  receive  at  once  the  good  seed  and  bring  forth  fruit. 
A  singular  remark  once  made  by  an  acquaintance  may  be  quo- 
ted here,  as  indicating  the  opinion  entertained  of  the  Doctor's 
natural  disposition.  In  a  company  where  his  character  had 
become  the  subject  of  conversation,  and  much  was  said  in 
praise  of  his  many  excellencies,  to  the  surprise  of  every  one, 
a  young  man  remarked  that  he  did  not  think  the  Doctor  bad 
any  virtue  at  all.  When  asked  to  explain  himself,  he  observed 
that  virtue  was  generally  considered  as  consisting  in  the  strug- 
gles of  a  man's  better  part  against  his  corruptions.  "  Now," 
said  he,  "  I  don't  believe  that  Dr.  Ramsey  has  any  corruptions 
to  contend  with."  No  doubt  the  Doctor  had  different 
thoughts  of  himself,  and  had  grounds  for  them.  But  though 
depravity  be  inherent  in  all,  it  has  different  degrees  of  power, 
and  in  few  did  its  natural  power  appear  to  be  weaker  than  in 
him. 

In  his  intercourse  with  society  he  always  showed  himself,  as 
to  all  the  substantial  qualities  of  that  character,  to  be  a  true 
gentleman.     He  was  not,  as  has  been  admitted,  distinguished 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   DR.    RAMSEY.  269 

for  gracefulness  in  his  movements.  In  this  respect  he 
appeared,  both  in  the  pulpit  and  in  the  parlor,  to  have  no 
thought  of  his  personal  appearance.  His  mind  was  too  much 
engaged  about  other  things.  Yet  few  could  be  compared  to 
him  in  their  talents  for  entertaining  and  instructive  conversa- 
tion. His  mind  was  not  only  well  stored  with  religious  truth, 
but  well  informed  on  almost  every  subject  of  importance. 
He  was  not  disposed  to  engross  the  conversation,  or  direct 
attention  to  himself,  but  in  his  own  modest  way,  could  express 
his  mind  freely  and  appropriately  on  all  common  topics.  He 
was  not  rude,  dogmatical,  or  overbearing,  but  remarkably 
affectionate,  and  ever  ready  to  yield  all  due  deference  to 
others.  While  he  abhorred  duplicity  and  flattery,  he  was  yet 
careful  not  causelessly  to  wound  the  feelings  of  any;  but 
rather  to  say  things  which  would  be  agreeable  and  useful. 
His  friendships  were  warm,  almost  unbounded  :  and  though 
he  was  capable  of  dislike,  he  knew  how  to  treat  even  an 
enemy  with  decent  courtesy.  In  a  word,  if  the  reader  will 
turn  to  Horn,  xii:  9-21,  he  will  there  find  the  truest  and  best 
rules  of  politeness  ever  penned;  and  few  individuals  ever 
lived  up  to  these  rules  more  faithfully  than  Dr.  Ramsey. 
The  consequence  of  this  was,  that  he  was  always  a  most 
welcome  guest  in  the  houses  of  his  acquaintances ;  he  was 
usually  the  centre  of  attraction  in  the  social  circles  with 
which  he  mingled,  and  his  society  was  courted  equally  by 
young  and  old,  rich  and  poor. 

Perhaps  no  trait  in  his  character  was  more  prominent,  more 
universally  admitted  and  admired,  than  his  strict  unbending 
integrity.  In  this  respect  it  would  be  hard  to  find  his  equal, 
and  it  is  believed  it  would  be  impossible  to  find  his  superior. 
Such  was  his  reputation  for  honesty  and  integrity,  that  not 
long  before  his  death  a  gentleman  of  the  highest  standing  in 
the  county  remarked,  in  reference  to  a  question  affecting  his 
character  for  veracity,  that  if  Dr.  Ramsey  were  convicted  of 
falsehood,  he  could  never  again  believe  himself.  His  honesty 
23* 


270  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

in  his  dealings  was  such  that  persons  who  could  not  compre- 
hend his  conscientiousness  were  ready  to  accuse  him  of  sim- 
plicity. Few  could  be  as  watchful  to  take  the  advantage  of 
others  in  a  bargain  as  he  was  to  avoid  it.  He  has  been  often 
known  at  auctions  to  bid  up  articles  where  there  was  no  com- 
petition, through  an  unwillingness  to  obtain  them  under  their 
true  value.  A  gentleman  who  had  sold  or  traded  away  a 
horse  for  the  Doctor,  came  to  him  and  boasted  that  he  had 
gained  for  him  an  advantage  of  ten  dollars,  supposing  that 
this  would  be  highly  gratifying.  The  Doctor  never  signified 
whether  he  was  pleased  or  not,  but  upon  the  first  opportunity 
quietly  handed  over  ten  dollars  to  the  person  supposed  to  be 
the  loser  in  the  bargain.  Not  long  before  his  death,  finding 
himself  unable  to  ride  on  horseback,  an  exercise  of  which  he 
had  always  been  particularly  fond,  he  proposed  his  horse  for 
sale.  The  animal  was  somewhat  aged,  but  still  sound,  vigor- 
ous, and  in  good  condition — (the  Doctor's  horses  were  always 
well  kept.)  A  friend  to  whom  he  had  intrusted  this  business 
being  asked  by  a  gentleman  the  price  of  the  horse,  replied, 
forty  dollars.  The  horse  was  without  any  hesitation  purchased 
for  this  sum.  Soon  afterwards  the  gentleman  met  the  Doctor 
in  the  street  and  mentioned  the  purchase  he  had  made. 
"Ah/'  says  the  Doctor,  "you  can't  have  the  horse  at  that 
price."  The  purchaser,  not  a  little  surprised  at  the  refusal, 
reminded  the  Doctor  that  this  was  all  that  had  been  demanded. 
"  True,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  but  I  can't  sell  him  for  forty  dol- 
lars j  you  may,  however,  have  him,  if  you  choose,  for  twenty- 
five."  It  is  hoped  the  reader  will  excuse  these  anecdotes,  as 
they  serve  better  to  illustrate  the  Doctor's  character  than 
whole  pages  of  abstract  description.  Many  others  of  the 
same  kind  might  be  repeated,  exhibiting  the  same  sterling 
honesty  for  which  he  was,  throughout  all  his  life  and  in  all 
his  transactions,  so  eminently  distinguished. 

In  connection  with  this  may  be  noticed  his  disregard  of 
wealth  ;  his  indifference  in  this  respect,  if  not  indulged  even 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OF   DR.    RAMSEY.  27l 

to  a  fault  in  himself,  was  certainly  in  some  cases  the  occasion 
of  faults  in  others.  It  encouraged  imposition.  He  was  far 
from  being  ignorant  of  worldly  things.  He  knew  even  better 
than  the  most  of  men  what  was  just  and  proper  in  worldly 
transactions;  he  knew  as  well  as  others  when  he  was  defrauded, 
but  would  rather  submit  to  injustice  than  contend ;  hence, 
unprincipled  persons  often  took  advantage  of  him  in  their 
dealings,  presuming  that  it  might  be  done  with  impunity. 
In  a  few,  and  but  very  few  instances,  his  indignation  against 
the  meanness  of  individuals  in  their  extortions,  prompted  a 
resistance  to  which  the  love  of  money  could  never  have  moved 
him.  In  the  early  part  of  his  ministry,  he  had  some  difficul- 
ties to  contend  with  in  providing  for  his  family,  but  the  bles- 
sing annexed  to  liberality  attended  him,  and  for  the  remainder 
of  his  life,  though  not  what  would  generally  be  regarded  as 
a  rich  man,  he  had  not  only  a  competence,  but  an  abundance. 
His  salary  was  small,  only  a  trifle  over  $300  per  annum,  a 
sum  far  from  sufficient  to  support  his  family,  but  by  the  pru- 
dent management  of  Mrs.  Ramsey,  who  proved  in  this  as  well 
as  in  other  respects  a  help  peculiarly  meet  for  him  ;  by  means 
of  what  he  inherited  through  her,  by  the  increase  in  the 
value  of  the  property  which  he  had  acquired,  and  by  other 
means,  Providence  so  favored  him,  that  he  had  enough,  and 
to  spare  ;  and  he  was  ever  ready  to  spare  liberally  of  what 
the  Lord  had  given  him.  When  elected  professor,  he  received 
an  addition  to  his  salary  of  $300  per  annum  from  the  Synod  : 
a  large  portion  of  this,  however,  was  expended  in  contribu- 
tions to  aid  the  Synod  in  the  erection  of  a  suitable  building 
for  the  seminary,  and  in  other  public  benefactions.  He 
always,  through  an  excess  of  modesty,  opposed  any  movement 
of  his  congregation  to  increase  his  salary,  although  their 
ability  so  far  exceeded  what  they  paid,  that  some  of  them 
frankly  acknowledged  that  they  had  felt  for  years  as  if  guilty 
of  stealing  preaching,  what  they  gave  being  so  nearly  nothing 
at  all.     At  the  time  of  his  resigning  his  professorship  in  the 


272  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

seminary  and  the  salary  connected  with  it,  he  even  opposed  a 
small  increase  of  his  salary  from  the  congregation,  though  in 
this  instance  his  opposition  was  not  successful.  We  may  add 
the  following  illustration  of  the  Doctor's  indifference  about 
the  world,  and  of  his  generosity  of  disposition.  About  the 
year  1821,  articles  of  produce  were  reduced  to  an  exceedingly 
low  value ;  wheat  was  only  twenty-five  cents  a  bushel,  flour 
one  dollar  per  barrel  in  Pittsburgh.  To  relieve  the  poor  of 
his  congregation,  the  Doctor  announced,  and  to  save  the  feel- 
ings of  the  poor  announced  without  making  any  discrimina- 
tion, that  he  would  receive,  at  the  mill  in  Canonsburg,  wheat 
at  fifty  cents  per  bushel,  in  payment  of  salary.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  his  granary  was  soon  filled  and  overflowing. 
Several  times  when  the  congregation  had  fallen  behind  in 
their  payments,  he  forgave  their  arrearages.  These,  however, 
they  in  a  very  honorable  spirit,  liquidated  by  a  donation  of 
equal  value  a  few  years  before  the  resignation  of  his  charge. 

Dr.  Ramsey  was  very  celebrated  for  a  peculiar  kind  of  wit, 
which  derived  much  of  its  power  from  his  gravity,  and  was 
so  far  from  detracting  from  his  ministerial  character  and  use- 
fulness, that  it  rather  added  to  both.  His  wit  was  altogether 
remote  from  levity ;  neither  was  he  addicted  to  malicious  and 
biting  sarcasm ;  but  he  abounded  in  a  species  of  wit  of  the 
most  innocent  and  inoffensive  character.  His  remarks  were 
often  so  unexpected,  uttered  with  so  much  apparent  serious- 
ness, and  exhibited  things  in  such  a  ridiculous  light,  that 
their  power  in  provoking  laughter  was  altogether  irresistible. 
Something  of  his  wit  often  appeared  in  the  pulpit,  but  so 
restrained  and  connected  with  his  seriousness,  that  it  seldom 
if  ever  had  any  tendency  to  produce  a  smile,  but  often  smote 
upon  the  conscience  with  great  power.  As  an  example  of 
this  may  be  mentioned  a  remark  made  in  a  sermon  preached 
not  many  years  before  his  decease.  He  had  heard,  as  was 
thought,  an  unfavorable  report  respecting  some  young  people 
whose  pareuts  were  members  of  the  church,  and  took  occasion, 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   DR.    RAMSEY.  273 

without  any  allusion  to  individuals,  to  describe  in  a  very 
striking  manner  their  course  of  conduct,  and  its  consequences. 
He  closed  by  observing  that  such  young  persons  were  in  the 
broad  way  that  leadeth  to  destruction ;  "  Yes/'  said  he, 
"  going  to  the  pit  as  fast  as  their  feet  can  carry  them ;  unless," 
he  added,  as  if  correcting  himself,  "  they  take  Judas's  road." 
He  often  introduced  observations  of  this  kind  in  a  manner  so 
unexpected  and  yet  so  appropriate,  that  the  hearers  were  at 
the  same  time  agreeably  surprised  and  powerfully  impressed. 
He  seldom  preached  without  saying  something  which  either 
in  itself,  or  in  the  peculiar  and  pointed  way  in  which  he 
uttered  it,  was  calculated  to  take  a  firm  hold  of  the  conscience, 
and  excite  serious  reflections.  To  borrow  one  of  his  own 
expressions,  sometimes  used  respecting  the  performances  of 
others,  "  His  sermons  had  teeth." 

Something  has  been  said  already  of  the  Doctor's  conversa- 
tional powers,  which  were  much  beyond  the  common  standard. 
His  power  of  discrimination  and  independence  of  mind,  ren- 
dered his  views  of  many  things  singularly  just  and  original ; 
and  these  he  was  accustomed  to  express  in  a  brief  and  pointed 
way,  often  including  in  a  single  remark  the  substance  of  what 
others  would  have  expanded  into  a  long  dissertation.  For 
instance,  the  subject  of  conversation  being  ecclesiastical  estab- 
lishments, he  observed,  that  though  he  had  read  many  very 
plausible  arguments  in  their  favor,  one  thing  had  always 
appeared  to  him  against  them, — they  had  never  worked  well. 
In  remarking  upon  a  book  relating  to  the  proprieties  of  cleri- 
cal manners,  he  observed  that  it  was  an  excellent  work,  and 
calculated  to  be  useful ;  "  but,"  added  he,  "  Thomas  Boston 
would  never  have  written  it."  He  was  of  late  years  appre- 
hensive that  judgments  were  impending  over  our  country,  and 
having  heard  that  one  of  the  most  pious  members  of  his  con- 
gregation was  at  the  point  of  death,  he  inquired  respecting 
him,  and  being  told  that  he  was  recovering,  "  I  am  glad  of 
it,"  said  he,  "  I  hope  Methusalah  will  not  be  taken  away  yet," 


274  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

referring  to  the  opinion  that  the  flood  was  not  to  come  till 
Mcthusalau's  death.  A  student  proposing  himself  for  the 
study  of  theology,  whose  mind  was  too  much  occupied  about 
matters  of  dress,  having  inquired  of  him  what  dress  he  thought 
most  suitable  for  a  student,  he  very  gravely  recommended  to 
him  the  long  jacket  of  humility.  Another  youth  of  a  very 
different  spirit,  having  asked  him  whether  he  thought  it  con- 
sistent in  Christians  to  indulge  in  laughter,  he  replied,  that 
he  thought  it  about  equally  criminal  with  sneezing.  This 
was  said  in  a  way  so  droll,  that  if  laughter  were  sinful,  the 
remark  proved  a  sad  stumbling  block  to  the  company.  A  lady 
in  one  of  our  eastern  cities  having  observed  to  the  Doctor 
that  she  had  understood  that  our  ministers  in  the  West  were 
not  favorable  to  Sabbath  Schools,  he  assured  her  that  this  was 
a  great  mistake.  "  We,"  said  he,  "  endeavor  to  have  a  Sab- 
bath School  in  every  family  of  the  congregation. "  Many 
remarks  of  this  kind  are  still  recollected  by  the  Doctor's 
acquaintances,  which,  if  they  could  be  collected  into  a  volume, 
would  not  compare  unfavorably  with  other  books  of  table  talk 
which  have  found  their  way  to  the  public. 

As  a  preacher  the  Doctor  would  not  be  ranked  among  the 
most  popular  by  a  certain  class,  though  by  some  of  the  best 
judges  he  was  considered  as  one  of  the  greatest  orators.  He 
undoubtedly  possessed  many  and  great  excellencies.  His  gen- 
eral acceptability  when  commencing  his  ministry  is  evident 
not  only  from  the  number  of  the  calls  which  he  received,  but 
from  the  respectable  character  of  the  congregations  giving 
them.  Three  of  these  at  least  were  at  this  time  among  the 
most  numerous,  intelligent,  and  pious  congregations  of  the 
Associate  Church.  As  he  advanced  in  years,  his  application 
to  study,  and  the  increase  of  his  religious  experience  rendered 
his  ministerial  labors  still  more  valuable.  The  first  impres- 
sion with  strangers  was  seldom  favorable.  He  spoke  slowly, 
though  without  any  painful  embarrassment.  His  style  was 
plain,  and  his  manner  not  altogether  graceful.     But  after  a 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH    OP   DR.    RAMSEY.  275 

little  familiarity  with  Lis  manner,  the  hearer  not  only  became 
reconciled  to  it,  but  it  seemed  even  to  add  to  the  effect  of  his 
preaching.  It  was  obvious  to  every  one  that  he  had  no 
thought  of  what  he  was  doing  with  his  hands  or  feet,  or  how 
he  appeared  in  the  eyes  of  the  people — that  his  whole  soul 
was  engaged  in  his  Master's  work.  Though  slow,  and  not  at 
all  boisterous  in  speaking,  he  was  always  earnest,  sometimes 
burning  with  zeal.  The  method  of  his  sermons  was  clear  and 
logical.  His  subjects  remarkably  appropriate  to  tbe  occasion. 
His  illustrations  were  scriptural,  and  often  exceedingly  perti- 
nent and  striking.  He  generally  comprehended  much  in  a 
few  words,  so  that  those  who  looked  more  to  the  thoughts 
than  the  volubility  of  the  speaker,  had  no  cause  for  weariness. 
He  would  weary  intelligent  people  less  by  a  sermon  of  an 
hour  and  a  half  than  many  rapid  speakers  would  in  half  an 
hour.  Looking  merely  at  the  thoughts,  he  would  say  more 
in  a  few  minutes  than  many  would  say  in  a  whole  day,  or 
perhaps  in  all  their  lifetime. 

He  had  a  just  perception  of  things  and  a  lively  imagina- 
tion, and  hence  excelled  particularly  in  description.  He  made 
a  frequent  and  unusually  happy  use  of  the  figure  called  Per- 
sonification. His  example  was  once  quoted  by  the  Professor 
of  Rhetoric  in  Jefferson  College  to  illustrate  this  figure  ;  with 
the  observation  that  a  distinguished  member  of  Congress, 
who  happened  to  hear  him  in  passing  through  the  village, 
had  spoken  of  him  as  one  of  the  few  pulpit  orators  he  had 
ever  heard.  Some  of  his  descriptions,  though  they  could  not 
now  be  given  in  his  own  words  or  accompanied  with  his  man- 
ner, will  be  long  remembered  by  the  hearers.  Such,  for 
instance,  is  his  account  of  the  descent  of  Moses  from  the 
mount,  to  which  he  on  one  occasion  referred  at  the  close  of 
the  dispensation  of  the  Supper,  expressing  to  the  people  his 
fear  that,  like  Israel  at  that  time,  some  of  them  would  soon 
be  found  singing  and  dancing  about  the  golden  calf,  applying 
his  remarks  to  the  sin  of  inordinately  seeking  after  wealth. 


276  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

He  has  been  known  to  give  a  most  life-like  picture  of  worship 
as  observed  in  some  families  at  a  late  hour  in  the  evening, 
making  the  hearers  to  imagine  that  they  could  almost  see 
some  of  the  children  in  bed,  and  the  rest  of  the  family  ready 
to  drop  asleep,  the  father  taking  his  seat  by  the  Bible,  and 
after  yawning  over  it,  looks  out  a  psalm,  singing  a  few  verses, 
then  hurrying  through  a  chapter,  and  going  to  his  knees  to 
repeat  over  the  same  old  prayer — the  wife  snoring  in  one  cor- 
ner and  the  children  in  another,  and  then  as  soon  as  the  ser- 
vice was  over  all  tumbling  into  bed  without  so  much  as  a 
thought  about  what  had  been  sung  or  read  or  prayed.  On 
one  occasion,  when  speaking  of  the  approach  of  death,  and 
warning  people  that  it  might  be  sudden,  he  observed  that 
many  lived  in  the  confident  anticipation  that  this  approach 
would  be  gradual,  so  that  there  would  be  abundance  of  time 
to  prepare ;  that  death  would  come  to  them  like  a  traveler 
who  would  just  make  his  appearance  at  the  end  of  the  lane, 
and  whom  they  would  see  riding  up  at  a  slow  pace  towards 
the  house.  After  awhile  they  would  see  him  alighting  and 
fastening  his  horse ;  then  making  his  way  to  the  house, 
opening  the  gate,  and  coming  through  the  yard ;  then  again 
they  would  hear  him  knocking  at  the  door,  and  knocking 
again  and  again  before  he  would  enter.  In  this  way  they 
thought  he  would  come  rather  than  as  a  thief  in  the  night. 

Among  the  last  times  that  he  preached  at  Chartiers,  he 
introduced  the  services  of  the  day  with  a  few  remarks  on 
Ps.  xviii ;  the  hint  leading  to  which  he  mentioned  as  bor- 
rowed from  Rutherford,  but  the  manner  of  exhibiting  the 
truth  was  evidently  his  own.  He  observed,  in  substance, 
that  it  was  with  the  children  of  God,  as  it  was  in  our  families 
when  a  child  was  sick.  Everything  in  our  houses  must  be 
regulated  with  a  reference  to  the  sick  child  till  it  is  recovered. 
Business  must  be  suspended,  quiet  must  be  observed,  servants 
sent  here  and  there,  physicians  must  be  called,  nurses  employed, 
some  must  be  running  up  stairs,  some  down.     Nothing  else 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  DR.    RAMSEY.  277 

is  regarded  compared  with  the  safety  and  comfort  of  that 
child.  Just  so,  said  he,  it  is  in  the  case  of  God's  children 
when  any  of  them  is  in  trouble.  The  earth  is  made  to  trem- 
ble, the  foundations  of  the  hills  are  moved,  the  heavens  are 
bowed,  the  Lord  himself  comes  down,  the  clouds  are  gathered 
and  again  dispersed,  the  thunders  roar,  the  channels  of  the 
waters  are  seen,  the  foundations  of  the  world  discovered — all 
the  elements  are  put  in  commotion,  and  all  the  proceedings  of 
God  in  his  kingdom  are  managed  with  a  reference  to  the  case 
of  that  child,  till  he  is  delivered.  When  he  described  the 
management  of  the  house  where  there  was  a  sick  child,  one 
could  hardly  avoid  imagining  himself  in  the  midst  of  the 
scene,  so  strongly  did  it  appear  impressed  on  the  mind  of  the 
speaker,  and  so  vividly  was  it  portrayed. 

Another  peculiarity  in  his  preaching  was  the  method  which 
he  often  employed  to  gain  and  fix  the  attention  of  his  hear- 
ers. He  would,  without  any  appearance  of  having  studied 
this  as  an  art,  begin  with  some  remarks,  the  particular  object 
of  which  the  hearers  would  not  readily  perceive.  After  he 
had  excited  their  curiosity  as  to  his  design,  fixed  their  atten- 
tion, and  prepared  the  way,  he  would  make  the  application  to 
the  purpose  intended  so  unexpectedly  and  so  appropriately, 
that  they  were  taken  by  surprise,  and  convinced  almost  before 
they  were  aware  of  it.  He  seemed  in  this  to  have  copied  the 
spirit  without  following  the  form  of  some  of  our  Saviour's 
parables. 

Upon  a  Sabbath  which  happened  to  be  the  first  day  of  the 
year,  the  Doctor  read  for  his  text,  John  iii :  16,  "  For  God  so 
loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,"  &c. ; 
and  after  looking  around  for  awhile  upon  the  congregation, 
as  his  habit  was,  he  commenced  by  observing  that  this  was 
New  Year's  day,  and  then  enlarged  upon  the  practice  of  mak- 
ing it  a  time  for  giving  gifts.  After  keeping  the  minds  of 
the  people  for  some  time  in  suspense,  as  to  the  connexion  of 
such  remarks  with  the  solemn  work  of  the  ministry,  he  added, 
24 


278  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

that  the  text  revealed  to  us  the  greatest  and  best  of  all  gifts — 
God's  gift  of  his  only-begotten  Son. 

The  subjects  on  -which  he  delighted  to  dwell  were  those 
which  constitute  the  substance  and  life  of  the  gospel :  the  love 
of  God  in  giving  his  Son,  the  all-sufficiency  of  Christ  in  his 
righteousness  and  grace,  the  gift  of  him  to  sinners  as  such  in 
the  gospel,  the  duty  of  appropriating  faith,  and  the  believer's 
deliverance  from  the  law  as  a  covenant.  He  seldom  preached 
without  introducing  some  of  these  topics;  very  often  they  were 
the  main  points  discussed.  The  doctrine  and  duty  of  cove- 
nanting, both  public  and  private,  were  also  frequently  brought 
into  view.  There  was,  however,  nothing  like  a  wearisome 
sameness  in  his  sermons;  even  when  he  repeated  them,  as 
towards  the  close  of  his  life  he  sometimes  did,  it  was  with 
many  variations.  The  books  which  he  delighted  to  read,  and 
which  gave  character  to  his  discourses,  were  those  written  by 
the  Puritans  of  England,  the  Marrow  men  of  Scotland,  and 
others  of  a  kindred  spirit.  Marshall  on  Sanctification  was  a 
particular  favorite,  and  it  was  his  regular  custom  to  read  this 
work  once  every  year.  Not  that  he  confined  himself  to  these 
writers  and  despised  others  of  the  present  time.  He  often 
purchased  and  read  with  avidity  modern  productions,  but  gen- 
erally came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  old  wine  was  better. 
Some  of  his  people  imbibed  so  much  of  his  love  of  books,  and 
books  of  a  like  character,  that  not  many  ministers  are  fur- 
nished with  libraries  of  equal  value  with  those  which  they 
have  collected. 

All  the  Doctor's  acquaintances  agree  in  opinion  that  in  no 
part  of  his  ministerial  duty  did  he  excel  more  than  in  prayer. 
His  manner  in  this  duty,  like  that  of  his  preaching,  was  slow 
and  deliberate,  almost  hesitating ;  yet  few  could  be  compared 
to  him  for  appropriateness,  propriety  and  fervency.  His  the- 
ological* students  often  remarked  how  apposite  his  prayers 
were  to  the  subjects  under  discussion.  The  afflicted  and  dying 
appeared  generally  to  regard  one  of  Dr.  Ramsey's  prayers  as 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OP   DR.    RAMSEY.  279 

the  greatest  of  all  services  which  could  be  rendered  to  them 
in  this  world.  He  seemed  not  only  to  have  a  peculiar  power 
to  carry  his  fellow  worshipers  with  him  to  a  throne  of  grace, 
but  to  bring  away  something  for  their  profit  and  consolation'. 
He  was  often  sent  for  in  cases  of  sickness,  not  only  by  the 
members  of  his  congregation,  but  by  strangers,  and  even  by 
such  as  had  previously  professed  but  little  regard  for  his 
ministry.  There  was  no  one  whose  conversation  and  prayers 
were  more  valued  than  his  in  cases  of  this  kind. 

Though  noted  for  his  strict  adherence  to  his  religious  pr> 
fession,  he  was  far  from  being  uncharitable  towards  those 
whose  creeds  diifered  from  his.  He  loved  the  image  of  Christ 
wherever  he  could  find  any  traces  of  it;  he  rejoiced  in  the 
prosperity  of  all  parts  of  his  kingdom,  and  spoke  of  the  satis- 
faction which  was  sometimes  manifested  by  the  members  of 
one  denomination  in  hearing  of  some  evil  befalling  another, 
as  one  of  the  surest  indications  of  the  want,  or  at  least  the 
weakness,  of  grace.  In  his  private  intercourse  with  his  breth- 
ren of  other  churches,  while  faithful  to  his  own  profession, 
he  was  not  forward  to  enter  into  controversy,  or  say  offensive 
things;  and  in  his  public  ministrations,  when  his  subjects 
led  him  to  speak  of  opinions  and  usages  which  he  condemned, 
he  did  so  in  such  a  spirit  that  no  reasonable  person  could  be 
displeased.  He  was  accustomed  to  inculcate  upon  students 
and  young  preachers  a  respectful  treatment  of  such  as  differed 
from  them,  observing  that  there  was  little  prospect  of  con- 
vincing men  by  causelessly  wounding  their  feelings  and  insult- 
ing their  judgments.  As  the  consequence  of  this  course  of 
conduct,  he  secured  the  esteem  and  good  will  of  all  good  men, 
and  even  the  respect  of  bad  men.  No  minister  of  the  Asso- 
ciate Church  had  a  better  reputation  either  in  it  or  out  of  it. 
Every  one  was  ready  to  rise  up  in  his  defence,  and  to  repel 
indignantly  any  attack  made  upon  his  character. 

As  a  professor  of  theology  his  department  was  didactic 
theology  and  Hebrew.     In  teaching  theology  his  custom  was 


280  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

on  alternate  days  to  read  a  short  lecture,  and  catechize  the 
students  on  the  subject  of  it.  The  latter  of  these  exercises 
was  what  he  chiefly  depended  on  for  informing  their  minds. 
He  had  no  ambition  to  make  to  himself  a  name  by  an  affec- 
tation of  originality,  or  the  introduction  of  novelties.  With 
powers  of  judgment  and  discrimination,  with  an  imagination 
and  ingenuity  sufficient  to  have  raised  him  to  a  high  rank 
among  those  having  the  reputation  of  original  thinkers,  he 
was  content  to  travel  in  the  old  and  safe  way  in  which  others 
had  gone  before  him.  He  was  firmly  attached  to  the  system 
of  truth  derived  from  the  Bible  by  the  first*  Reformers  and 
their  immediate  successors.  He  was  thoroughly  familiar  with 
it,  and  very  capable  of  teaching  it  in  a  clear  and  comprehen- 
sive manner.  In  the  Hebrew  he  was  in  a  great  measure  self- 
taught,  never  having  proceeded  much  if  anything  beyond  the 
first  principles  of  the  language  till  his  election  as  professor. 
But  considering  his  age  at  this  time,  and  the  multiplicity  of 
his  labors,  it  was  rather  remarkable  that  he  made  such  pro- 
gress in  this  branch  of  business  as  he  did.  So  far  as  known 
there  were  no  complaints  of  his  incompetency  in  teaching  it. 
He  excelled  as  a  critic  upon  the  performances  of  the  students, 
having  a  quick  discernment  of  any  thing  amiss  in  the  doc- 
trines advanced,  the  plans  of  their  sermons,  their  style,  and 
general  character  as  speakers.  Still  he  had  not  an  eye  merely 
for  their  faults,  but  could  see  and  commend  what  was  worthy 
of  praise.  In  pointing  out  faults  he  was  not  usually  severe, 
but  sometimes  could  not  refrain  from  the  indulgence  of  his 
wit,  and  raising  a  laugh  at  the  expense  of  the  young  men. 
Yet  in  doing  this  there  was  evidently  no  intention  to  give 
offence,  and  generally  none  was  taken.  The  standing  of  those 
ministers  who  prosecuted  their  studies  under  him  is  generally 
such  as  to  reflect  no  discredit  upon  their  teacher. 

There  were  many  traits  in  the  character  of  Dr.  Ramsey 
which  may  easily  be  inferred  from  those  mentioned  ;  such  as 
his  affectionatcness  in  his  family  and  towards  his  friends,  his 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OF   DR.    RAMSEY.  281 

hospitality  to  friends  and  strangers,  his  prudence  and  his 
uncomplaining  spirit.  Although  he  felt  keenly,  he  had  a 
wonderful  control  over  himself,  and  would  seem  almost  indif* 
ferent  to  troubles,  by  which  his  spirit  was  overwhelmed,  and 
his  eyes  held  waking  in  the  night  season.  If  some  affairs 
brought  before  the  Presbytery  of  Chartiers,  a  few  weeks  before 
his  death,  in  which  he  and  his  family  were  deeply  interested, 
did  not  hasten  his  end,  they  at  least  caused  that  his  gray  hairs 
were  brought  down  with  sorrow  to  the  grave. 

That  which  constituted  his  greatest  excellence,  and  which 
is  to  him  now,  and  will  soon  be  found  by  us  all  in  our  own 
cases,  to  be  the  most  important  of  attainments,  was  his  sincere 
and  ardent  piety.  No  man  was  less  disposed  to  make  a  parade 
of  his  religion ;  no  man  less  needed  to  do  it.  His  piety 
shone  forth  so  clearly  in  his  whole  life,  that  it  could  not  be 
hid ;  it  was  a  piety  not  in  word,  but  in  deed  and  in  truth. 
Like  all  members  of  the  human  family  he  had  his  infirmities, 
but  they  were  neither  numerous  nor  glaring.  It  has  been 
said  of  some  that  even  their  faults  lean  to  virtue's  side.  It 
might  be  said  of  Dr.  Ramsey,  that  his  chief  faults  consisted 
in  the  excess  of  his  virtues.  His  modesty,  his  indifference 
to  the  world,  his  forbearance,  and  his  friendships  were  some- 
times carried  to  an  extreme. 

Such  was  his  humble  estimate  of  himself,  that  he  never 
could  be  prevailed  upon  to  become  an  author.  It  is  not 
known  that  he  ever  penned  any  thing  for  publication  beyond 
a  short  presbyterial  report,  or  something  of  this  kind ;  and 
even  in  these  cases,  he  was  only  driven  to  it  by  necessity. 
His  method  of  preparing  sermons  was  to  write  an  outline, 
pretty  full  so  far  as  related  to  the  ideas  to  be  advanced,  but 
as  to  the  language,  containing  only  hints,  intelligible  to  him* 
self,  but  not  generally  to  others.  It  is  not  probable  that  he 
has  left  any  thing  in  a  state  suitable  for  publication.  But  as 
his  manner  of  speaking  was  very  distinct  and  deliberate,  some 
of  his  students  and  others  of  his  friends  occasionally  took 
24* 


282  filSTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

notes  of  his  sermons ;  and  it  is  possible  that  a  volume,  or  at 
least  some  specimens  of  them,  may  yet  be  prepared  for  the 
press. 

Although  Dr.  Ramsey  was  spared  to  a  great  age,  gave  very 
clear  evidence  of  his  preparation  to  leave  the  world,  and  was 
not  called  away  till  the  days  of  bis  active  usefulness  were 
ended,  the  church  in  which  he  ministered,  and  the  church  at 
large,  have  reason  to  lament  the  loss  of  his  example  and  his 
prayers.  Such  men  still  fill  the  office  of  Moses,  who  stood 
in  the  breach  and  turned  away  the  anger  of  the  Lord ;  and 
we  may  well  mourn  over  their  removal,  and  say,  "  Help,  Lord, 
for  the  godly  man  ceaseth,  and  the  faithful  fail  from  among 
the  children  of  men." 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 


EEV.   ABRAHAM   ANDERSON,    D.   D, 

Professor  of  Didactic  Theology  in  the  Associate  Seminary,  at  Canonsburg. 
Washington  county,  Pa.;  also  Profossor  of  Language's  in  Jeffer- 
son College,  from  September,  1S18,  to  September,  1821 
and  Profossor  Extra,  of  Hebrew  in  Jefferson 
College,   from    December,  1852,  till 
his    death,  May,  1855. 


BY     REV.     W.     M.     M'ELWEE 


[Abridged  from  the  "Evangelical  Repository."] 


The  parents  of  Dr.  Anderson,  (Abraham  Anderson  and 
Elizabeth  Chesnutt,)  were  born  in  Ireland,  but  in  what  county 
is  not  known.  They  were  united  in  marriage  during  the 
period  of  our  Revolutionary  struggle,  and  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica shortly  after  the  renewal  of  amicable  relations  between 
the  United  States  and  the  mother  country.  Having  arrived 
in  the  United  States  about  1784,  they  took  up  their  abode  in 
Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  they  continued 
to  reside  till  1805  or  1806.  All,  or  nearly  all,  of  their  chil- 
dren, (five  sons  and  three  daughters,)  were  born  in  that  county : 
Abraham,  their  second  son  and  third  child,  was  born  in  New-1 
ville,  a  small  village  of  Cumberland  county,  on  the  7th  day 
of  December,  1789. 

As  is  generally  the  case  with  emigrants  from  the  old  world, 
Mr.  Anderson,  when  he  reached  the  United  States,  was  in 
very  limited  circumstances,  but  by  the  blessing  of  the  Lord 

(283) 


284  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

upon  his  honest  labors,  his  worldly  condition  improved  from 
year  to  year.  On  removing  from  Cumberland  county,  in 
1805  or  1806,  to  Washington  county,  in  "Western  Pennsylva- 
nia, he  was  able  to  secure  a  small  farm — that  on  which  the 
Rev.  Matthew  Henderson  spent  his  last  days,— and  on  this 
tract,  hallowed  by  the  piety  of  his  predecessor,  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  years,  not  in  splendid  affluence,  but  in  plenty 
of  all  things. 

To  secure  the  stated  dispensation  of  word  and  ordinances 
in  their  purity,  so  that  his  own  soul  might  be  continually 
edified  and  his  family  trained  up  in  the  nurture  and  admoni- 
tion of  the  Lord,  was  Mr.  Anderson's  great  object  in  remov- 
ing to  the  West.  The  place  to  which  he  was  directed  iu 
Providence,  and  on  which  he  settled,  was  very  suitable  to  the 
end  he  had  in  view,  being  but  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the 
church  of  the  Associate  congregation  of  Chartiers,  of  which 
the  late  James  Ramsey,  D.  D.,  was  pastor  at  the  time,  and 
continued  to  be  the  pastor  for  several  years  after  the  death  of 
Mr.  Anderson.  His  object,  so  highly  laudable,  was  fully 
gained.  He  enjoyed  the  plain,  earnest  ministrations  of  Dr. 
Ramsey  during  the  residue  of  his  days,  and  appeared  to  grow 
in  knowledge,  faith,  and  heavenly-mindedness.  After  a  few 
years'  connection  with  the  congregation,  he  was  advanced  to 
the  eldership,  and  all  his  children,  yielding  to  the  instructions 
of  the  word,  written  and  preached,  and  to  the  force  of  their 
father's  example,  lived  in  sobriety  and  godliness  ;  and  as  they 
reached  maturity  of  life,  professed  the  Christian  faith,  and 
sought  communion  with  Christ  and  his  people. 

It  is  the  desire  of  many  parents  to  accumulate  wealth  for 
the  benefit  of  their  children.  They  persuade  themselves  that 
if  they  had  thousands  at  their  command,  they  could  and  would 
secure  for  their  children  the  best  teachers,  have  the  brightest 
examples  set  before  them,  and  give  them  all  their  time  for 
improving  their  minds  and  their  manners.  But  an  humble 
condition,  with  piety,  has  its  advantages,  and  they  are  greater 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP   DR.    ANDERSON.  285 

than  mere  affluence  can  afford.  These  greater  advantages 
were  the  lot  in  Divine  Providence  of  the  children  of  Mr. 
Anderson,  and  particularly  of  Abraham,  the  subject  of  the 
present  sketch.  He  was  taught  from  childhood  to  fear  and 
reverence  the  God  of  Israel,  to  esteem  and  relish  his  word,  to 
say,  "  Thou,  God,  seest  me,"  and  to  make  the  will  of  God 
the  rule  and  reason  of  his  conduct.  He  was  taught  to  pray, 
and  taught  how  to  pray ;  for  though  the  elder  Anderson  was 
not  one  of  the  learned,  yet  he  had  a  fine  gift  of  prayer,  and 
prayed  in  his  own  house  morning  and  evening  with  a  fullness 
and  pathos  not  always  attained,  even  by  the  public  ministers 
of  the  gospel.  He  was  taught  to  think  and  reason,  to  con- 
trive and  plan,  to  fix  on  an  end  and  to  pursue  it  laboriously, 
not  regarding  the  clamors  of  the  flesh  for  rest  and  ease.  A 
good  religious  training  is  the  best  fortune  which  a  young  man 
can  inherit,  and  those  young  men  are  in  the  fairest  way  to 
possess  this  inheritance  whose  parents  are  poor  as  to  worldly 
things,  but  rich  in  faith  and  in  the  knowledge  of  the  divine 
word. 

It  is  no  discredit  to  the  son  of  Jesse,  that  he  was  taken  from 
the  sheep-fold,  "  from  following  the  ewes,  great  with  young, 
to  feed  bis  people  Israel  •"  and  it  is  no  discredit  to  Dr.  Ander- 
son, if  he  was  taken  from  the  plough,  to  feed  the  people  of 
Christ  with  the  bread  of  life.  The  cares  and  toils  of  the  farm 
were  in  fact  his  occupation,  from  the  time  that  he  was  capable 
of  helping  in  such  affairs,  till  he  was  nearly  twenty-three 
years  of  age.  To  persons  of  an  upright  spirit  and  sober 
mind,  no  business  is  more  agreeable.  Some  of  the  greatest 
intellects  have  acknowledged  and  manifested  a  fondness  for 
agricultural  pursuits.  Cincinnatus  was  taken  from  his  plough 
to  command  the  armies  of  the  Roman  republic,  and  our  own 
Washington,  as  is  well  known,  preferred  the  cares  of  his  farm 
to  the  anxieties  of  the  camp  and  of  the  court.  No  doubt  Mr. 
Anderson  took  pleasure  in  the  labors  of  the  field,  and  it  may 
be  that  he  never  would  have  been  heard  of  as  a  teacher  and 


286  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

leader  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  had  he  not  been  called  from  his 
paternal  home  and  rural  labors  to  other  scenes,  and  labors  of 
\a  more  trying  nature. 

The  second  war  with  Great  Britain,  sometimes  called 
the  war  for  establishing  our  national  independence,  was 
declared  by  Congress  on  the  18th  of  June,  1812.  Soldiers 
were  needed  to  defend  the  eastern  and  northern  boundaries  of 
the  Republic,  and  as  a  sufficient  number  could  not  be  enlisted, 
the  citizens  were  drafted  to  perform  the  duties  of  soldiers. 
Some  were  taken  to  the  Atlantic  coast  to  repel  the  enemy  in 
that  quarter,  and  others  to  the  North  and  North-west  to  resist 
invasions  from  Canada,  and  to  repress  and  chastise  the  atroci- 
ties of  savage  warfare,  most  of  the  Indian  tribes  having 
enlisted  on  the  side  of  Britain.  What  portion  of  the  yeo- 
manry of  the  country  was  called  to  arms  in  the  course  of 
the  war,  is  unknown.  But  so  many  husbandmen  and  arti- 
zans  became  soldiers,  that  there  was  scarcely  a  family  in  any 
part  of  our  extended  country,  that  was  not  made  heavy  in 
spirit  by  the  draft  or  enlistment  of  one  or  more  of  its 
members. 

In  the  autumn  of  1812,  a  portion  of  the  militia  of  Western 
Pennsylvania  was  called  out  by  the  War  department,  to 
defend  the  borders  lying  between  Cleveland  and  Sandusky, 
against  the  British  from  Canada,  and  to  repress  and  chastise 
the  ferocity  of  the  savage  tribes  in  that  region  of  Ohio.  The 
joyfulness  of  many  families  was  exchanged  for  heaviness  and 
gloomy  forebodings.  The  family  of  old  Mr.  Anderson  was 
not  exempted.  Abraham,  the  beloved  son  and  brother,  was 
one  of  the  draft,  being  at  the  time  not  quite  twenty-three 
years  of  age.  About  the  necessity  and  lawfulness  of  the 
war,  the  people  of  the  United  States  were  divided  into  two 
parties — equal  to  each  other  in  numbers,  or  at  least,  very 
nearly  equal.  What  were  the  private  thoughts  of  young  Mr. 
Anderson  about  these  matters  of  public  debate,  the  writer 
cannot  state  with  absolute  certainty      But  he  appears  to  have 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   DR.    ANDERSON.  287 

been  with  the  democratic  or  war  party,  in  judgment  and  in 
feeling.  In  compliance  with  the  draft,  he  went  out  from 
his  beloved  home,  and  as  a  private  went  through  all  the  hard- 
ships of  a  winter  campaign  in  the  North-west  of  Ohio,  which 
it  is  presumed  he  would  have  found  some  means  of  avoiding, 
had  he  doubted  of  the  lawfulness  of  the  war,  or  had  he  not 
considered  that  the  call  of  his  country  was  also  the  call  of 
Providence.  Mr.  Anderson,  though  at  this  time  but  a  youth, 
had  in  some  way  accpuired  the  habit  of  industry  and  forecast ; 
the  habit  of  turning  every  little  portion  of  time  to  some  good 
account;  and  in  the  intervals  of  military  duty,  he  wrote  a 
brief  journal  of  the  campaign  in  which  he  bore  a  part.  The 
journal  is  preserved  entire,  and  though  the  writer  of  it  had 
to  substitute  his  knee  or  a  billet  of  wood  for  a  table,  the 
writing  is  easily  read,  excepting  a  small  portion  of  it  written 
with  bad  ink,  and  effaced,  in  a  good  measure,  by  the  lapse  of 
so  many  years.  It  appears  from  the  journal  that  the  regiment 
of  which  Mr.  Anderson  constituted  a  part,  assembled  in  Pitts- 
burgh, in  the  beginning  of  October,  1812,  and  from  thence 
marched  on  the  19th  of  the  month  under  the  command  of 
Major  D.  Nelson,  to  Beaver,  Lisbon,  Canton,  Massillon, 
Wooster  and  Mansfield.  At  the  latter  place  the  band  lay  in 
;amp  from  the  10th  of  November  till  the  12th  of  December, 
and  strange  as  it  may  seem  to  those  now  living  in  that  peace- 
ful village,  there  were  rumors  of  persons  tomahawked  and 
scalped  in  the  neighborhood.  Sentinels  were  placed  with  the 
utmost  care,  and  scouting  parties  were  sent  out  to  discover, 
if  possible,  the  lurking  places  of  the  foe.  The  rumors,  how- 
ever, were  but  rumors,  and  this  being  ascertained,  the  detach- 
ment marched  to  the  plains  of  Sandusky,  to  Delawaretown, 
to  Norton,  to  Franklinton,  and  Upper  Sandusky.  The  band 
reached  the  latter  place  on  the  31st  of  December,  and  lay 
there  in  camp  till  the  24th  of  January,  when,  in  compliance 
with  an  express,  they  marched  for  Miami.  Having  to  wade 
through  mud  and  water,  in   many  places  to  the   knees,  they 


288  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

made  but  eight  miles  in  the  day,  and  camping  at  Tiornocto, 
lay  there  from  the  25th  to  the  29th,  waiting  for  the  waters  to 
freeze  up.  While  waiting,  bad  news  was  received,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  they  had  to  march  on  the  29th,  without  their 
tents,  and  with  three  days'  provisions  in  their  knapsacks. 
On  the  1st  of  February,  the  band  reached  Portage  river,  and 
on  the  following  day  came  to  the  Rapids,  where,  says  the 
journal,  "  We  found  a  man  killed  by  the  Indians.  He  had 
been  sent  in  company  with  two  others  to  the  British,  and  was 
killed.  The  other  two  not  being  found  were  supposed  to  have 
been  taken  as  prisoners." 

The  band  of  soldiers  being  now  in  the  midst  of  enemies 
distinguished  by  insidious  cunning  as  well  as  by  ferocious  cour- 
age, cast  up  breast-works  about  the  place  of  their  encampment, 
and  built  a  block  house,  to  which  was  given  the  name  of  Fort 
Meigs.  Spies  were  sent  out  to  ascertain  the  position  of  the 
Indians,  and  on  the  9th  of  February  the  spies  returned  and 
reported  that  they  had  found  an  encampment  of  about  three 
hundred  Indians,  eighteen  miles  down  the  river,  whereupon 
Major  Nelson  called  for  six  hundred  volunteers  to  go  and 
attack  them  by  night.  The  journal  states  that  tiedcehundred 
volunteered,  and  does  not  add  that  the  writer  was  one  of  the 
twelve  hundred.  But  such  is  the  fact.  It  is  distinctly  recol- 
lected that  Mr.  Anderson  stated  in  private  conversation  with 
friends,  that  he  had  volunteered  to  take  part  in  the  perils  of 
that  adventure ;  and  this  fact  is  implied  in  the  journal,  for  it 
is  added  after  the  statement  quoted  above,  "  We  commenced 
our  march  at  8  o'clock,  P.  M.,  and  at  2  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing came  to  the  Indian  encampment,  but  they  had  all  fled." 

To  follow  the  journal  in  all  its  details  would  be  wearisome 
to  most  of  our  readers.  It  is  judged,  however,  that  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  will  be  acceptable  ;  and  they  will  serve  to 
evince  us  that  Mr.  Anderson,  in  the  course  of  his  campaign, 
went  through  great  trials  and  hardships,  though  he  was  not 
engaged  in  any  battle. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   DR.    ANDERSON.  289 

u  On  Friday,  the  26th  of  February,  a  party  of  us  set  out 
for  Lfower  Sandusky  on  a  secret  expedition.  Reached  Lower 
Sandusky  on  the  28th.  Rested  there  till  the  1st  day  of 
March.  On  the  2d,  Captain  Logan  assembled  the  whole 
party,  which  numbered  about  two  hundred  men,  and  informed 
us  that  the  object  of  the  expedition  was  to  burn  the  Queen 
Charlotte-,  lying  at  Maiden,  and  requested  all  to  retire  to 
camp  that  did  not  choose  to  encounter  the  danger  involved  in 
the  undertaking;  or  that  could  not  be  cool  and  deliberate 
under  the  yells  of  savages  and  the  roar  of  cannon.  No  one 
of  the  whole  party  confessed  the  weakness  of  his  nerves  and 
prayed  to  be  excused.  But  as  the  ice  on  the  lake  was  broken 
up,  the  expedition  failed  to  effect  the  object  intended,  and 
after  much  exposui'e  and  fatigue  the  company  returned  to  the 
Rapids. 

"On  the  9th  of  March  an  alarm  was  given.  Two  or  three 
of  our  men  went  down  the  river  a  few  miles  from  the  camp, 
who,  on  their  return,  reported  that  they  were  fired  on  by  six 
Indians.  No  one  of  the  little  company  was  killed  or  wounded ; 
but  one  of  them  had  a  bullet  lodged  in  a  Bible  in  his  pocket. 

"  On  the  same  day,  a  lieutenant  in  Major  Nelson's  battalion, 
of  the  name  of  Walker,  went  out  of  camp  some  distance,  and 
on  the  10th  he  was  found,  shot  through,  tomahawked,  and 
scalped,  and  thrown  into  the  river. 

"  On  the  19th  of  March,  a  scouting  party  went  out  and 
returned  with  the  loss  of  one  man,  supposed  to  be  taken 
prisoner. 

"  On  the  21st  of  March,  another  scouting  party  went  out 
and  found  many  signs  of  Indians.  A  large  party  went  over 
the  river  to  lie  in  wait  that  night.  About  ten  o'clock  at 
night  we  had  an  alarm  by  the  firing  of  two  platoons  on  that 
side  of  the  river  where  our  scouting  party  was.  The  party 
on  returning,  reported  that  they  saw  two  or  three  Indians,  and 
fired.     No  one  was  tilled. 

"On  the  31st  of  March,  our  general  collected  us  together 
25 


290  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

for  the  purpose  of  getting  volunteers  to  stay  fifteen  days  to 
keep  the  fort.     Two  hundred  men  turned  out  to  stay." 

The  occasion  of  this  call  for  volunteers  was  the  fact  that 
the  time  of  service  for  which  the  militia  had  been  called  out 
was  about  to  expire,  and  as  yet  the  troops  to  supply  their 
place  had  not  arrived.  It  was  important  to  the  country  and 
to  the  magnanimous  regulars  occupying  the  fort,  that  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  militia  should  stay  beyond  their  time. 
But  all  naturally  desired  to  be  out  of  danger,  and  to  enjoy 
the  convivialities  and  comforts  of  home  ;  and  these  desires 
prevailed  with  the  greater  part.  On  the  2d  of  April,  between 
nine  and  ten  hundred  Pennsylvania^  and  Virginians  took 
their  departure.  Only  two  hundred  subjected  the  yearnings 
of  their  hearts  to  a  sense  of  duty,  and  stayed  to  defend  the 
"fort  and  the  lives  of  their  brethren.  Of  this  magnanimous 
little  band,  Mr.  Anderson  was  one,  and  by  his  course  on  that 
occasion,  he  showed  that  high  regard  for  duty  which  he  often 
manifested  in  future  life.  He  was  very  affectionate  and  ten- 
der-hearted, and  no  doubt  desired  to  be  at  home  as  earnestly 
as  those  who  returned  home  as  soon  as  the  strong  hand  of  the 
law  allowed  them  to  do  so.  But  asking  his  own  conscience 
what  is  duty  in  the  case  ?  and  receiving  the  answer,  stay,  he 
hesitated  no  longer — stay  he  would,  and  die. 

The  defence  of  the  fort  being  greatly  weakened,  the  enemy 
became  more  insolent,  and  the  condition  of  the  men  holding 
the  fort  more  perilous.  On  the  4th  of  April,  two  Indians 
killed  and  scalped  a  man  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  camp. 
They  were  pursued,  but  escaped.  On  the  8th,  forty  Indians 
attacked  a  fatigue  party,  while  loading  a  wagon  with  wood. 
One  of  the  party  was  killed,  two  taken  prisoners ;  the  rest 
were  chased  but  escaped.  Two  bands  went  in  pursuit  of  the 
Indians,  one  of  which  overtook  and  killed  nine  of  them.  Seven 
of  the  pursuing  party  were  wounded,  and  two  of  them  mortally. 

The  following  paragraph  is  interesting,  and  bears  witness 
to  the  humanity  of  the  Commander-in-chief : 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   DR.    ANDERSON.  291 

"  On  the  16th  of  April,  a  man  having  been  condemned  to 
be  shot  for  desertion,  an  offence  which  he  had  repeated  five 
times  :  the  ring  was  formed  in  a  hollow  square ;  the  criminal 
was  brought  forward  bj  a  guard,  the  band  playing  the  '  Dead 
March ; '  he  was  set  by  on  a  bench,  and  a  black  handkerchief 
tied  around  his  head.  The  charges  against  him  were  read 
with  the  sentence  of  the  court.  The  handkerchief  was  then 
drawn  over  his  face  ;  the  officer  commanding  the  executioners 
ordered  them  to  make  ready.  They  did  so,  and  at  that  instant 
General  Harrison  gave  him  his  reprieve,  and  ordered  him  to 
the  Provost  Guard." 

"  On  the  18th  of  April,"  the  journal  goes  on  to  say,  "  We 
left  Fort  Meigs  for  home.  Our  number  was  ten,  three  of 
whom  were  not  able  to  carry  arms.  It  was  twenty  miles  to 
Portage  Block  House.  Five  of  our  company  gave  out  within 
two  miles  of  Portage,  where  we  lay  during  the  night,  with- 
out fire,  after  wading  through  mud  and  water  to  the  knees  as 
much  as  half  the  way.  About  ten  o'clock,  while  I  was  on 
guard,  a  gun  was  fired  three  or  four  hundred  yards  off,  which 
I  suppose  was  done  by  an  Indian,  as  no  white  men  were  near. 
There  was  also  repeated  yells  of  wolves,  or  rather  of  Indians 
affecting  to  be  wolves.  No  other  disturbance  was  observed 
till  near  break  of  day,  when  we  were  surprised  by  a  savage 
yell,  perhaps  three  hundred  yards  off.  We  were  all  awake 
and  stood  to  arms  waiting  for  an  attack,  till  clear  day.  We 
then  marched  in  order  to  Portage,  expecting  to  be  attacked 
by  the  way,  but  by  the  interposition  of  Providence,  we 
escaped  our  enemies'  hands.  We  took  refreshment  at  Portage, 
and  then  continued  our  March  through  the  Black  Swamp, 
which  was  about  three  miles  in  breadth,  and  often  three  or 
four  feet  deep ;  and,  indeed,  our  future  march,  at  least  as  far 
as  Sandusky,  was  through  a  continued  swamp " 

The  words  of  the  last  sentence  are  the  close  of  the  journal. 
It  was  not  intended  for  public  inspection,  and  was  left  incom- 
plete.    But  though  it  was  written  for  mere  private  use,  with- 


292  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

out  the  ordinary  conveniences  for  writing,  and  though  it  was 
written  in  a  very  trying  and  exciting  time,  when  Mr.  Ander- 
son was  but  a  youth,  and  had  no  education  but  such  as  he 
picked  up  in  the  common  schools  of  the  country,  we  confi- 
dently appeal  to  the  performance  as  proof  of  a  sound,  vigor- 
ous mind,  and  a  firm,  manly  spirit.  As  a  dead  fly  causeth  the 
ointment  of  the  apothecary  to  send  forth  a  stinking  savor, 
so  doth  a  little  folly  him  that  is  in  reputation  for  wisdom. 
But  there  are  no  signs  of  weakness  in  the  journal — no  whin- 
ing about  losses  and  hardships,  no  boasting  of  a  heart  proof 
against  the  sharp  arrows  of  fear ;  nor  of  exploits  done,  or  of 
exploits  attempted,  at  the  thought  of  which  others  blanched 
and  drew  back.  There  are  no  silly  conceits,  nor  anything  at 
all  to  make  the  writer  blush,  were  he  still  living,  and  the 
whole  spread  before  the  world  as  the  earliest  production  of 
his  pen.  We  notice,  however,  a  want  which  we  did  not 
expect  to  find, — the  want  of  a  religious  sentiment  and  feeling. 
Mr.  Anderson  had  professed  the  Christian  religion  some  years 
before  he  was  called  to  be  a  soldier,  and  had  partaken  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  a  number  of  times.  Yet  in  his  journal  the 
Bible  is  mentioned  but  once,  and  in  that  instance  it  is  men- 
tioned incidentally.  The  interposition  of  Providence  in 
behalf  of  himself  and  his  companions,  is  mentioned  but  once. 
The  Sabbath  is  not  mentioned  at  all.  There  is  no  notice  of 
any  opportunity  of  attending  public  worship,  and  there  are 
no  lamentations  about  the  want  of  such  opportunities.  How 
are  we  to  account  for  these  omissions  ?  When  Mr.  Anderson 
repaired  to  the  camp,  did  he  leave  his  religion  behind  him  ? 
This  supposition  the  testimony  of  his  fellow  soldiers  forbids  us 
to  entertain.  They  report  that  he  carried  his  Bible  with  him, 
and  often  employed  his  leisure  moments  in  the  perusal  of 
it, — that  he  made  an  observable  difference  between  the  Lord's 
day  and  other  days, — that  when  it  fell  to  his  lot  to  stand 
sentinel  during  the  Sabbath  evening,  or  to  do  any  public  duty 
on  the  Lord's  day,  he  always  avoided  it,  if  it  were  in  his 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH    OP   DR.    ANDERSON.  293 

power  so  to  do, — that  profane  language  was  never  heard  from 
his  lips, — that  he  was  virtuous  and  honorable,  and  highly 
esteemed  both  by  the  officers  and  men. 

It  would  not,  therefore,  be  warrantable  to  infer  from  the 
want  of  pious  expressions  in  the  journal,  that  Mr.  Anderson 
was  at  that  time  destitute  of  Christian  faith  and  sentiment. 
It  might,  indeed,  be  inferred  as  well,  that  he  was  without 
natural  feeling,  for  though  he  was  at  times  in  great  peril,  the 
journal  says  nothing  of  the  anguish  of  fear;  and  though  he 
was  often  in  circumstances  which  all  men  everywhere  regard 
as  distressing,  yet  nothing  is  complained  of  in  any  part  of 
the  journal.  Nothing  is  said  of  the  pride  and  tyranny  of 
officers, — nothing  of  the  hard  fare  of  the  common  soldier, — 
nothing  of  the  painfulness  of  an  alarm  in  the  night;  and  even 
when  he  wades  through  water  and  mire  all  the  day,  and  beds 
in  the  swamp  at  night,  without  fire,  there  is  no  expression  to 
indicate  that  Mr.  Anderson  felt  the  discomforts  of  his  situa- 
tion. But  surely  he  was  not  without  natural  feeling,  and  it 
is  equally  certain  that  he  hoped  and  trusted  in  the  living  Grod, 
and  was  thankful  to  Him  for  His  care  and  protection.  But 
if  he  felt  indeed,  why  did  he  not  give  utterance  to  his  feel- 
ings ?  The  proper  solution  of  the  difficulty  appears  to  be 
simply  this :  having  no  accommodation  for  writing,  and  very 
little  time  for  such  business,  he  proposed  not  to  write  a  com- 
plete history  of  his  physical  and  spiritual  experience  during 
the  campaign,  but  merely  to  write  a  memorandum  of  places, 
dates  and  incidents,  for  the  help  of  his  memory  in  thinking 
and  speaking  in  after  years  of  that  trying  season.  How  well 
his  labor  answered  the  design  of  it,  is  very  evident  from  the 
extracts  that  have  been  exhibited. 

Viewing,  with  the  help  of  Mr.  Anderson's  journal,  the 
trials  and  hardships  of  the  North-western  campaign,  in  the 
winter  of  1812-13,  the  considerate  reader  can  hardly  fail  to 
reflect  on  the  horrors  of  war.  How  unpleasant  and  painful 
js  the  whole  business,  and  how  great  the  havoc  that  attends 
25* 


294  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

it !  The  campaign  over  which  we  have  glanced,  was  not  sig- 
nalized by  any  bloody  engagement,  but  a  number  of  persons 
were  killed.  All,  at  times,  were  disquieted  with  fear,  though 
the  journal  does  not  tell  us  so,  and  all  suffered  greatly  through 
exposure  to  piercing  winds,  and  to  water  from  above,  and 
water  on  the  surface  of  the  earth.  Though  that  was  an  age 
of  greater  vigor  and  hardihood  than  the  present,  yet  many, 
by  the  severity  of  their  trials,  were  brought  down  to  the  dust 
of  death  before  the  close  of  the  campaign ;  and  many  others 
had  the  seeds  of  disease  and  death  implanted  in  their  systems. 
It  is  thought  by  a  fellow-soldier  that  Mr.  Anderson  was  never 
the  same  in  respect  of  buoyant  health  that  he  had  been  before 
the  campaign.  If  those  who  make  wars  had  to  fight  them 
through  to  the  bitter  end,  so  many  wars  would  not  be  pro- 
claimed. 

After  leaving  Portage,  as  stated  in  the  journal,  and  touch- 
ing at  Sandusky,  it  is  not  known  through  what  towns  and 
villages  Mr.  Anderson  passed.  But  he  reached  his  paternal 
home  in  health  and  safety  about  the  1st  of  May,  1813.  He 
was  joyful  and  thankful,  and  no  doubt  his  parents,  now  well 
on  in  years,  rejoiced  over  him,  and  called  their  other  children 
and  their  friends  to  rejoice  with  them,  saying  as  the  father 
in  the  parable,  "  This,  our  son  was  dead,  and  he  is  alive  again ; 
he  was  lost,  and  is  found." 

Though  Mr.  Anderson  returned  to  his  father's  habitation, 
he  did  not  return  to  his  former  employment.  He  had  been 
seized  with  a  desire  to  pursue  studies  in  preparation  for  the 
gospel  ministry,  and  had  signified  his  desire  to  his  parents,  two 
or  perhaps  three  years  before  he  was  called  out  to  assist  in 
defending  the  country.  At  that  time  his  father  opposed  the 
project,  alleging  that  his  labors  on  the  farm  were  very  need- 
ful ;  and  that  the  family  could  not  dispense  with  his  assis 
tance,  and  at  the  same  time  bear  the  additonal  burden  that 
would  be  imposed  by  his  college  fees,  and  other  incidental  ex- 
penses.    Mr.  Anderson  felt  and  acknowledged  the  force  of  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OF   DR.    ANDERSON.  295 

objection  :  he  abandoned  the  project  for  the  time,  and  it  may 
be  that  he  would  never  have  taken  it  up  again,  had  not  the 
privilege  which  he  had  sought  been  freely  accorded  to  him. 
This  was  done  in  a  very  engaging  manner.  When  Mr.  Anderson 
had  told  the  family  of  the  privations,  perils  and  hardships 
of  the  campaign  more  particularly  and  fully  than  had  been 
done  in  letters  sent  from  the  camp,  his  father  reminded  him 
of  his  former  desire  to  enter  on  a  course  of  study  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  ministry,  and  how  he  himself  had  opposed  the 
project  at  that  time.  "But  71020,"  added  the  good  old  man, 
"  I  will  object  no  more,  for  the  Lord  hath  showed  me,  that  if  I 
will  not  spare  your  labors  in  the  field  for  that  purpose,  he 
can,  and  perhaps  will,  deprive  me  of  them  in  some  other 
way."  « 

Mr.  Anderson's  desire  to  engage  in  the  work  of  the  ministry 
was  not  extinguished  by  what  he  had  seen  and  suffered  in  the 
camp.  As  he  went  out  on  that  perilous  tour,  he  had  perhaps 
vowed  a  vow  to  this  effect,  that  if  God  would  be  with  him, 
and  bring  him  again  to  his  father's  house  in  peace,  then  the 
Lord  should  be  his  God,  and  he  would  serve  him  in  the 
gospel  of  his  Son,  if  permitted  to  do  so.  Perhaps  he  had 
seen  during  the  campaign,  more  clearly  than  before,  that 
atheism,  profaneness,  irreligion,  and  all  manner  of  wicked- 
ness, were  pouring  into  the  land  like  a  flood,  and  that  the 
Lord  of  Hosts,  like  the  general  at  Fort  Meigs,  was  calling  for 
volunteers  to  go  forth  and  stem  the  tide.  But,  however 
these  things  may  have  been,  he  accepted  promptly  and 
cordially  of  the  privilege  accorded  to  him  by  his  beloved 
parent;  and  after  a  few  days  of  relaxation  and  social  enjoy- 
ment, he  entered  himself  as  a  student  of  Jefferson  College. 

As  the  family  were  still  in  limited  circumstances,  he 
boarded  with  his  parents,  three  and  a  half  miles  from  Canons* 
burg,  the  site  of  the  college,  and  then  walked  seven  miles 
each  day.  The  thought  of  having  to  travel  so  great  a 
distance,  would  appall  a  young  man  of  the  present  generation, 


296  history  of  jeiteuson  college. 

But,  being  accustomed  to  inarches  of  fifteen,  twenty,  and 
thirty  miles,  Mr.  A.  made  no  account  of  the  labor,  and  was 
not  retarded  by  it.  He  committed  to  memory  while  walking 
to  and  from  college ;  or  if  the  weather  was  unsuitable  for 
carrying  an  open  book  before  his  eyes,  he  reviewed  in  thought 
the  subject  of  study,  and  made  himself  more  familiar  with  it. 
It  may  be  that  his  progress  in  learning  was  furthered  by  his 
long  walks,  and  doubtless  the  considerable  exercise  made 
necessary  by  the  place  in  which  he  boarded,  was  the  means 
of  maintaining  his  bodily  health  and  vigor,  notwithstanding 
his  close  application  to  study.  But  whether  his  boarding  so 
far  from  the  college  was  an  advantage  or  disadvantage,  his 
progress  was  rapid.  He  graduated  in  September,  1817,  a 
little  more  than  four  years  from  the  time  of  his  entrance ; 
and  on  the  same  day  he  was  elected  professor  of  languages  in 
Jefferson  College,  a  clear  proof  that  the  Faculty  and  Trustees 
of  that  Institution  conferred  upon  him  the  first  degree,  pro 
mcrito,  and  not  pro  gratia- — in  consideration  of  his  merits, 
and  not  in  the  way  of  favor.  Mr.  Anderson  accepted  the  pro- 
fessorship, and  discharged  the  duties  of  the  office  for  four  years. 
During  this  period  he  also  studied  Theology,  being  admitted 
to  the  study  by  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Chartiers,  shortly 
after  his  election  to  the  professorship.  The  Theological 
Seminary  of  the  Associate  church  was  at  that  time  under  the 
care  of  the  venerable  John  Anderson,  D.  D.,  and  was  located 
in  Service  congregation,  Beaver  County.  The  prescribed 
course  of  study  occupied  four  sessions  of  five  months  each, 
the  sessions  commencing  the  1st  Monday  of  November,  and 
closing  on  the  4th  Wednesday  of  March.  Mr.  Anderson's  full 
attendance  at  the  Seminary  was  dispensed  with,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  honorable  and  useful  business  in  which  he  was 
engaged,  and  his  ripeness  in  knowledge.  He  was  at  the 
Seminary  two  or  three  months  only;  but  when  not  there,  he 
prosecuted  his  Theological  studies  with  diligence.  It  is 
natural  to  presume  that  his  labors  in  the  college  hindered  his 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP  DR.    ANDERSON.  297 

advancement  in  Theology,  and  that  his  attention  to  Theology 
hindered  his  acceptance  and  usefulness  in  the  college.  But 
his  trials  were  always  heartily  approved  hy  the  Presbytery  : 
and  in  the  college  he  was  highly  esteemed  by  his  fellow 
professors  and  by  the  young  men  in  attendance.  Busy  he 
must  have  been,  and  yet  he  found  time  to  read  a  course  of 
medicine  with  Dr.  Jonathan  Leatherman,  of  Canonsburg,  by 
which  he  attained  to  considerable  skill  in  medical  practice, 
and  qualified  himself  to  be  useful  to  his  fellow  men  in  sick- 
ness; as  he  was,  in  fact,  wherever  he  went,  giving  counsel 
and  medicine  to  good  purpose  and  without  charge.  It  is 
astonishing  that  a  man  should  go  through  so  many  labors 
and  accomplish  so  much  in  so  short  a  time.  But  in  this 
case  our  astonishment  may  be  somewhat  diminished  by  calling 
to  mind  that  Mr.  A.  had  been  a  student  of  Theology,  under 
his  minister  and  parents,  for  more  than  twenty  years,  before 
he  was  formally  admitted  to  the  study,  by  the  Associate 
Presbytery.  After  the  usual  trials  before  the  Presbytery,  he 
was  licensed  to  preach  the  everlasting  gospel,  in  July  or 
August  of  1821 ;  and  as  that  was  the  work  to  which  he  had 
dedicated  himself,  he  resigned  his  professorship  at  the  close 
of  the  college  session  in  September.  He  was  fond  of  retire- 
ment and  study;  the  incomes  of  the  professorship  were 
greater  than  he  could  expect  from  the  ministry — in  the  view 
of  many  it  was  more  honorable  to  be  a  learned  professor  in 
a  rising  college,  than  to  be  the  humble  pastor  of  a  country 
congregation  :  but  judging  that  he  was  called  to  preach 
Christ,  Mr.  Anderson  conferred  not  with  flesh  and  blood.  He 
laid  aside  his  professorship  and  gave  himself  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry.  After  preaching  in  the  vacant  congregations  of 
Chartiers,  Allegheny,  and  Ohio  Presbyteries,  he  passed,  in 
pursuance  of  Synodical  appointment,  into  the  Presbytery 
of  the  Carolinas,  in  the  spring  of  1822.  He  preached  in  all 
the  vacancies  of  the  latter  Presbytery,  and  in  all  with 
acceptance  to  all  the  people.     In  July,  1822,  he  was  unani- 


298  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

mously  called  by  the  united  congregations  of  Bethany  and 
Steel  Creek,  in  Mecklenburgh  county,  North  Carolina,  to  be 
their  pastor.  The  call  occasioned  great  thoughts  of  heart. 
Mr.  Anderson  had  not  anticipated  a  settlement  in  the  Carolina 
Presbytery.  He  was  not  inclined,  but  on  the  contrary, 
averse,  to  a  settlement  in  a  slave  State.  But  the  people 
were  very  needy,  having  been  without  pastoral  care  from  the 
time  of  the  death  of  Rev.  James  Pringle,  in  1817 ;  and  they 
were  very  earnest  and  urgent  in  their  application  to  him, 
individually.  After  carefully  and  prayerfully  considering 
what  duty  demanded  in  the  case,  he  accepted  their  call.  His 
ordination  trials  were  delivered  in  Pisgah  meeting-house, 
Lincoln  county,  North  Carolina,  about  the  10th  of  Septem- 
ber, and  being  approved,  he  was  ordained  and  installed  at 
Steel  Creek  meeting-house,  on  Thursday,  the  3d  of  Octo- 
ber, 1822. 

The  writer  of  this  sketch  was  in  attendance  on  the  Pres- 
bytery at  Pisgah,  while  Mr.  Anderson  submitted  his  trials  for 
ordination,  and  there  began  an  acquaintance,  which  was 
afterwards  cultivated  on  long  journeys,  to  and  from  different 
meetings  of  the  Associate  Synod  —  in  frequent  meetings  of 
the  Carolina  Presbytery  —  in  frequent  meetings  to  dispense 
the  Lord's  Supper  —  in  several  meetings  as  Delegates  to  the 
Convention  of  Reformed  churches  —  in  many  meetings  of  the 
Theological  Board,  and  in  numberless  meetings  in  our  respec- 
tive habitations,  both  in  the  South  and  in  the  North.  The 
acquaintance  for  which  Providence  afforded  such  ample  op- 
portunity, soon  ripened  into  the  most  intimate  and  cordial 
friendship  —  a  friendship  that  was  never  interrupted  while 
Mr.  Anderson  lived ;  and  will  not  be  interrupted,  it  is  con- 
fidently hoped,  through  the  numberless  ages  that  are  yet  to 
come.  At  the  commencement  of  this  acquaintance  and  friend- 
ship, Mr.  Anderson  was  in  the  meridian  of  life,  being  about 
thirty-three  years  of  age.  It  seems  proper  therefore  in  this 
place,  to  give  some  account  of  his  personal  appearance.     He 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  DR.    ANDERSON.  299 

was  a  tall  man,  six  feet  and  two  inches  in  height,  with  a  well 
extended  frame  and  heavy  muscular  limbs.  Whether  standing 
or  walking,  he  bore  himself  altogether  erect,  having  acquired 
the  habit  of  doing  so,  it  is  believed,  in  his  military  trainings. 
The  hair  of  his  head  was  quite  black,  and  yet  his  complexion 
was  uncommonly  florid.  His  forehead  was  white,  smooth  and 
lofty ;  his  cheeks  not  round,  but  long,  and  rather  lank ;  his 
eyes  were  bright  and  penetrating.  When  much  interested  in 
what  he  was  saying  himself,  or  hearing  from  the  lips  of 
another,  his  eyes  seemed  to  flash  and  twinkle,  like  bright 
stars  in  a  clear  night.  His  general  appearance  told  at  once 
and  distinctly,  that  he  was  a  man  of  intelligence,  honesty  and 
courage.  Perhaps  the  camp  had  made  an  abiding  impression 
on  his  person.  But  however  this  may  be,  there  was  the 
appearance  of  stern,  solemn  dignity,  and  a  stranger  meeting 
him  on  the  highway,  might  reasonably  have  conjectured  that 
he  was  the  general  of  an  army  on  a  private  jaunt. 

He  was  regarded  from  the  first  not  merely  by  the  people 
that  called  him  to  be  their  pastor,  but  by  the  ministers  and 
people  of  the  Presbytery  in  general,  as  a  great  acquisition. 
Such  a  man  is  indeed  an  acquisition  in  any  Presbytery,  at 
any  time.  But  when  Mr.  Anderson  was  settled  in  the  Pres- 
bytery of  the  Carolinas,  his  gifts  and  abilities  were  eminently 
needful.  The  Presbytery  included  three  ministers,  Messrs. 
Dixon,  Mushat,  and  Heron,  and  twenty  congregations  scat- 
tered over  the  Western  Territories  of  Virginia,  and  the  two 
Carolinas.  From  the  congregations  of  Rockbridge  county, 
Virginia,  to  those  in  Fairfield  district,  South  Carolina,  is 
fully  three  hundred  miles.  But  the  greater  part  of  the 
twenty  congregations  are  more  convenient  to  each  other, 
having  their  locality  in  the  contiguous  counties  of  Lincoln, 
Iredell,  and  Mecklenburgh,  North  Carolina,  and  in  the  ad- 
joining districts  of  York,  Lancaster,  Chester,  and  Fairfield, 
South  Carolina.  The  people  were  mostly  Irish  and  Scotch, 
or  their  descendants ;    and.  as  is  common  with  these  races 


300  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

wherever  found,  they  were  zealous  for  the  religion  of  their 
father.  They  had  gone  with  their  ministers  into  the  union 
which  gave  rise  to  the  Associate  Reformed  church,  but  about 
the  year  1804,  they  withdrew  from  that  ecclesiastical  con- 
nexion, and  came  under  the  inspection  of  the  Associate  Synod 
of  North  America.  The  occasion  was  as  follows : — Rev.  John 
Mason,  D.  D.,  of  New  York,  began  in  1801  or  '2,  to  advocate 
through  the  Christian  Magazine  the  frequent  observance  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  and  to  arraign  and  condemn  the  customary 
sacramental  fast  days,  and  thanksgiving  days,  as  not  required 
nor  warranted  by  the  word  of  God.  The  Associate  Reformed 
Synod  of  the  South  having  met  (1804  or  '5,)  in  Bethany, 
York  District,  South  Carolina,  took  up  the  subject  of  frequent 
communion,  and  after  a  long  and  animated  discussion  they 
approved  and  adopted  the  views  of  Dr.  Mason,  in  all  their 
extent.  Two  ministerial  members  of  the  Synod,  viz  :  Rev. 
William  Dixon  and  Rev.  Peter  M'Millan,  and  several  elders 
protested  against  the  reformation  resolved  upon,  as  a  serious 
and  pernicious  deformation.  Their  remonstrances  not  being 
regarded  by  their  brethren,  they  withdrew  and  forwarded  a 
petition  to  the  Associate  Synod,  requesting  admission  to 
fellowship  with  them.  In  answer  to  this  petition,  the  A  s- 
sociate  Synod  sent  two  of  their  members  to  the  Caroliuas, 
viz  :  Rev.  John  Anderson,  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  William  Wilson, 
with  power  to  constitute  as  a  Presbytery,  and  receive  the 
accession  of  Messrs.  Dixon  and  M'Millan,  and  their  adherents. 
The  appointees  fulfilled  their  mission  in  1805  or  '6,  and  so 
founded  the  Presbytery  of  the  Carolinas  in  subordination  to 
the  Associate  Synod  of  North  America. 

In  a  few  months  after  the  perfecting  of  this  ecclesiastical 
revolution,  Mr.  became  openly  and  grossly  in- 
temperate, and  being  laid  aside,  the  care  of  all  the  Secession 
congregations  in  the  South  devolved  for  several  years  on  Mr. 
Dixon  alone.  At  length  (about  the  year  1810,)  Mr.  John 
Mushat,  of  Cambridge  Presbytery,  New  York/  accepted  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP  DR.    ANDERSON.  301 

call  of  the  congregations  of  Cambridge  and  Stirling,  in  Iredell 
county,  North  Carolina,  and  was  installed  as  their  pastor. 
About  the  same  time,  Mr.  Andrew  Heron,  from  the  same 
Presbytery  of  New  York,  was  settled  in  the  congregations 
of  Ebenezer  and  Timber-ridge,  Kockbridge  county,  Virginia. 
And  not  long  after,  Mr.  James  Pringle,  licensed  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Philadelphia,  undertook  the  pastoral  charge  of 
Bethany  and  Steel  Creek  congregations,  in  Mecklenburgh 
county,  North  Carolina.  The  measure  of  ministerial  gifts 
and  abilities  possessed  by  these  young  ministers  was  very 
considerable  —  greater  than  falls  to  the  lot  of  many  who 
officiate  acceptably  and  usefully.  The  people  of  the  Carolina 
Presbytery,  rejoiced  in  them,  as  bright  and  shining  lights, 
and  rejoiced  in  the  hope  that  the  principles  for  which  they 
were  witnesses  would  prevail  in  the  land,  and  exert  a  happy 
influence.  But  the  prospect  was  soon  darkened.  Mr.  Mushat 
opened  an  Academy  in  Statesville,  Iredell  county,  in  1815, 
and  made  teaching  his  principal  business,  abandoning  the 
work  of  the  ministry  in  a  good  measure  :  and  in  the  Autumn 
of  1817,  Mr.  Pringle  was  by  an  inscrutable  Providence  re- 
moved to  the  land  of  silence.  The  Presbytery  was  brought 
very  low,  and  so  continued  till  1821,  when  Mr.  T.  Kitchen, 
from  the  Secession  church  of  Scotland,  was  settled  in  the 
pastoral  charge  of  Shiloh  and  Neely's  Creek  congregations ; 
the  former  in  Lancaster,  and  the  latter  in  York  district, 
South  Carolina.  This  addition  to  the  Presbytery  revived 
the  spirits  of  the  people.  But  Mr.  Dixon  being  now  far 
advanced  in  life,  and  compassed  about  with  infirmities,  the 
ministerial  force  of  the  Presbytery  was  altogether  inadecpiato, 
and  Mr.  Anderson's  services  at  the  time  of  his  settlement 
were  greatly  needed. 

He  appeal*  to  have  been  fully  aware  from  the  first  moment 
of  his  settlement,  that  he  was  called  not  to  enjoy  otium  cum 
dignitate,  but  to  work  in  the  Master's  vineyard,  and  accord- 
ingly he  gave  himself  to  work.     He  took  boarding  with  Col. 
26 


302  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

Thomas  Grier  and  lady,  of  Steel  Creek,  with  whom  also  his 
predecessor  had  lodged.  The  Colonel  and  his  lady  were  not 
possessed  of  great  wealth,  but  they  were  animated  by  a 
liberal,  generous  spirit,  and  furnished  their  pastor  with  every 
needful  accommodation  gratuitously ;  accounting  his  presence 
and  company  a  sufficient  remuneration.  In  the  pastoral 
charge  which  he  had  been  induced  to  accept,  Mr.  Anderson 
found  one  considerable  advantage,  which  young  ministers 
generally  lack  for  a  season  —  a  supply  of  books  appropriate 
to  his  studies.  His  predecessor,  Mr.  James  Pringlc,  during 
the  short  course  of  his  ministry,  had  collected  for  his  own 
use  a  considerable  library,  amounting  perhaps  to  three 
hundred  volumes,  and  having  neither  wife  nor  child  to  pro- 
vide for,  he  had  left  the  whole  collection  to  the  congregation 
of  Steel  Creek,  for  the  use  of  his  successors  in  the  pastorate 
of  the  congregation.  As  Mr.  Anderson  was  his  first  succes- 
sor, and  came  not  only  into  Mr.  Pringle's  pulpit,  but  into 
his  very  study  and  bed-chamber,  the  books  were  all  in  their 
respective  places  as  if  waiting  to  be  consulted. 

It  is  a  time  of  severe  trial  when  the  front  ranks  of  an  army 
are  cut  down,  and  those  in  the  rear  march  forward  to  fill  their 
places,  and  see  their  brethren  silent  in  death,  or  agonized 
with  pain.  It  is  wonderful  that  a  man  can  maintain  the 
control  of  himself,  in  such  circumstances.  Mr.  Anderson's 
position  was  not  so  appalling,  but  it  was  solemn.  There  was 
a  voice  in  the  chamber,  bed  and  books,  and  the  voice  gave 
utterance  to  the  words,  Ministers  must  die  even  as  others. 
Remember  that  thou  shalt  die,  and  ichatsoevcr  thy  hand 
findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might.  Whether  Mr.  Anderson 
in  fancy  heard  these  words  or  not,  he  was  attentive  to  the 
warning  and  counsel  contained  in  them.  He  addicted  him- 
self to  meditation  and  prayer.  He  searched^the  Scriptures 
and  read  commentaries  and  systems  of  Theology,  that  he 
might  attain  to  a  more  perfect  understanding  of  the  Scrip- 
tures.    He  labored  in  preparing  sermons  and  in  preaching 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  DR.    ANDERSON.  303 

them.  He  held  quarterly  diets  of  examination,  and  general 
meetings  of  the  youth  in  the  church  for  examination  and 
instruction.  He  attended  also  to  parochial  visitation,  and 
exhorted  from  house  to  house.  As  his  people  were  scattered 
over  a  parallelogram  of  thirty  miles  in  length,  and  twelve  in 
breadth,  the  last  mentioned  department  of  labor  was  very 
tedious  and  exhausting,  yet  he  persisted  in  it,  judging  that 
it  was  an  important  and  necessary  part  of  his  work  :  for  how 
else  could  he  know  the  spiritual  wants  of  his  people  ?  and 
if  he  knew  them  not,  how  could  he  give  to  each  his  portion 
in  due  season  ? 

Mr.  Anderson's  situation  had  some  advantages,  as  has 
been  noticed.  But  there  were  also  disadvantages  connected 
with  his  charge.  He  was  subjected  to  a  great  deal  of  labor 
in  the  way  of  traveling.  Each  tour  to  Bethany,  to  which 
he  repaired  every  second  Sabbath,  was  a  journey  of  forty 
miles,  and  if  called  to  visit  the  sick,  or  engaged  in  visiting 
from  house  to  house,  the  journey  was  increased  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles,  making  a  circuit  of  more  than  a  thousand  miles 
in  the  course  of  the  year.  In  addition  to  this  lai-ge  domestic 
traveling,  he  had  long  journeys  of  a  more  public  nature,  in 
attending  Presbytery,  meeting  with  brethren  to  assist  in 
dispensing  the  Lord's  Supper,  supplying  vacant  congregations 
with  preaching,  repairing  to  the  meetings  of  Synod,  &c. 
These  public  jaunts  being  added  to  his  common  domestic 
traveling,  the  whole  would  amount  to  twenty-five  hundred, 
or  perhaps  three  thousand  miles  per  annum ;  involving  a 
great  deal  of  labor,  and  much  loss  of  time. 

Mr.  Anderson  soon  found  that  traveling  on  horse-back 
subjected  him  to  febrile  excitement,  and  other  unpleasant 
symptoms.  With  the  view  of  preventing  the  irritation,  he 
furnished  himself  with  a  vehicle ;  the  remedy  was  not 
effectual,  but  still  he  went  on  with  his  work,  and  sought 
relief  by  other  means.  In  the  campaign  of  1812,  an  attack 
being  threatened,  the  army  of  which  Mr.  Anderson  was  a 


304  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

part,  was  put  in  order  for  the  battle.  Mr.  Anderson  being 
a  large  man  and  of  reputation  for  courage,  the  officer  in 
command  singled  him  out,  and  calling  him  from  the  rear, 
where  he  was  when  the  alarm  was  given,  conducted  him  to 
the  front  rank  and  stationed  him  there.  In  like  manner  the 
Presbytery  continually  assigned  to  him  the  very  front  of 
ministerial  exposure  and  hardship,  and  yet  he  did  not  pray 
to  be  excused  because  he  had  already  done  more  than  others, 
nor  because  the  labor  and  exposure  would  probably  be 
prejudicial  to  his  health  and  comfort.  Some  one  should  go 
to  this  place  and  the  other  to  dispense  the  Lord's  Supper,  or 
to  moderate  a  call,  or  to  install  a  minister,  or  to  share  in  the 
deliberations  of  Synod  :  and  the  question  being  raised,  who 
will  go  ?  often  did  Mr.  Anderson  volunteer  as  at  Fort  Meigs, 
or  quietly  submit  to  the  appointment  of  Presbytery  under  a 
sense  of  duty. 

To  convince  his  hearers  of  their  lost,  undone  estate  by 
nature,  and  persuade  them  to  trust  in  Christ  for  salvation, 
and  to  take  his  holy  precepts  for  their  guide  and  directory, 
was  that  at  which  Mr.  Anderson  aimed  in  all  his  ministra- 
tions, whether  at  home  or  abroad.  He  desired  and  endeavored 
to  bring  about  a  reformation  in  accordance  with  the  word 
of  Gi-od,  and  in  conformity  with  the  attainments  of  the  church 
of  Scotland  in  her  happiest  days.  In  carrying  out  this 
design,  he  preached  the  truth  with  simplicity  and  plainness, 
and  assailed  error  directly  and  boldly,  and  yet  with  such  calm 
dignity  and  scriptural  force,  that  hearers  who  had  been  of  a 
different  opinion  were  not  exasperated.  His  labors  had  not 
all  the  effect  which  he  desired,  but  they  were  not  in  vain. 
His  own  members  were  generally  awakened  and  stirred  up 
to  give  more  earnest  heed  to  the  things  belonging  to  their 
peace.  Many  individuals  were  turned  from  irreligion  and 
ungodliness ;  family  worship  was  established  in  many  dwel- 
lings ;  the  Sabbath  was  observed  with  increased  solemnity  • 
intemperance  and  profancness  were  abandoned,  or  practiced 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKET.'H   OP  DR.    ANDERSON.  305 

clandestinely,  and  with  shame.  Mr.  Anderson's  influence 
was  felt  in  the  neighboring  congregations.  Mr.  William 
Dixon,  the  father  and  founder  of  the  Presbytery,  a  man  of 
earnest,  solid  piety,  had  some  way  fallen  into  the  practice 
of  baptizing  the  children  of  parents  who  gave  attention  to  the 
preaching  of  the  word,  though  they  did  not  seek  fellowship 
with  Christ  and  his  people,  in  the  use  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
With  much  kindness  and  with  great  respect,  Mr.  Anderson 
remonstrated  against  this  practice  of  the  venerable  father  as 
disorderly  and  pernicious  in  its  effects,  and  his  remonstrance 
was  effectual.  In  some  of  the  neighboring  congregations, 
members  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity  were  church  members  in 
full  communion  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Anderson's  settlement  in 
the  Presbytery.  But  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  such 
members,  and  chiefly  through  Mr.  Anderson's  influence, 
were  called  before  their  session  and  required  to  dissolve  their 
connexion  with  the  Masonic  body.  Most  of  them  did  so, 
and  such  as  refused  to  comply  were  suspended  from  the 
fellowship  of  the  church,  as  the  discipline  of  the  Associate 
body  requires.  The  leaven  of  sound  doctrine  had  then  by 
various  means  made  its  way  into  some  of  the  contiguous 
congregations.  Mr.  Anderson  desired  it  to  spread  quickly 
through  all  the  congregations  of  the  Presbytery,  and  through 
the  land,  and  with  this  view  he  moved  the  Presbytery  in  the 
Spring  of  1824,  to  prepare  and  emit  a  pastoral  letter.  The 
Presbytery  adopted  the  motion  and  appointed  Mr.  Anderson 
himself  to  prepare  the  contemplated  letter.  He  accepted  the 
appointment  and  prepared  the  draught  of  a  letter,  which 
being  submitted  was  approved  and  published  towards  the 
close  of  the  year.  The  original  manuscript  of  this  paper  in 
Mr.  Anderson's  handwriting  is  before  me.  It  is  entitled, 
a  pastoral  letter  by  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  the  Carolinas, 
to  the  people  under  their  care.  As  it  was  the  declared  design 
of  this  paper  to  promote  reformation  according  to  the  holy 
Scriptures,  the  author  sets  out  with  the  position  that  true 
26* 


306  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

religion  was  in  a  low  and  languishing  condition  :  be  sustains 
this  position  by  some  instances  and  proof,  and  then  addresses 
himself  to  the  work  of  correcting  errors  in  practice  and  in 
principle.  Under  the  former  head  ho  treats  of  the  great 
evil  of  intemperance,  at  that  time  extensively  prevalent  in 
the  land,  and  quite  too  common  among  the  members  of 
the  church.  He  passes  on  to  the  sin  of  profaning  the 
Lord's  day — -the  sin  of  neglecting  family  worship  and  family 
instruction — the  sin  of  profaning  gospel  ordinances  —  the 
sin  of  contemning  Christ  and  his  salvation,  by  declining 
to  profess  the  faith  and  partake  of  the  holy  sacraments. 
Under  the  second  general  head  the  author  notices  not  the 
principal  errors  in  Theology,  but  some  of  those  popular 
erroneous  sentiments,  which  in  his  judgment  have  a  direct 
tendency  to  harden  the  hearts  of  professors  in  a  course 
of  defection  from  the  truth  and  cause  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  errors  particularly  noticed  and  refuted  are  the  following : 
"We  should  not  disturb  the  peace  of  the  church  by  con- 
tending for  divine  truth  and  ordinances. — Error  introduced 
or  held  by  a  professed  believer  should  be  spared. — Though 
we  may  oppose  essential  errors,  we  should  not  contend 
about  the  non-essential.  — Controversy  genders  strife  and 
displeasure  among  Christians,  and  it  is  good  for  nothing 
else.  —  Every  man  must  answer  for  himself,  and  therefore, 
it  is  officious  to  trouble  ourselves  about  the  mistakes  of 
others. — It  is  little  difference  what  our  sentiments  are, 
if  our  practice  be  correct. — If  we  be  sincere,  it  matters 
not  about  our  faith  or  principles. — It  is  impossible  to 
obtain  an  agreement  among  professed  Christians,  and  we 
are  therefore  not  to  expect  it,  but  to  admit  to  the  com* 
munion  of  the  church  those  whom  we  in  charity  judge  to 
be  Christians,  whatever  their  religious  sentiments  may 
be,"  &c.  The  several  matters  treated  of  in  the  letter,  are 
handled  in  a  plain,  simple  manner,  as  utility  required,  and 
yet  with  energy.     Eloquence   of  diction  is  wanting,  for  it 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OP  DR.    ANDERSON.  307 

would  heave  hindered  the  object  intended.  But  sensible 
persons  who  may  take  up  the  pamphlet,  will  soon  be  satis- 
fied that  the  pen  was  guided  by  a  discerning  mind,  well 
stored  with  knowledge,  and  by  a  sincere  honest  heart.  The 
following  passage  respecting  the  duty  of  family  worship  is 
very  forcible,  and  shows  an  extensive  acquaintance  with 
the  word  :  "  The  matter  of  the  duty  being  plain,  that  it 
should  be  performed  by  families,  ice  have  abundant  evidence. 
David  returned  to  bless  his  house,  1  Chron.  xvi:  43;  Joshua 
resolved  to  serve  the  Lord  with  his  house,  Joshua  xxiv  : 
15 ;  Job  sanctified  his  family,  and  thus  did  Job  continually, 
Job  i :  5 ;  Abraham  was  commended  for  his  fidelity  in  this 
matter,  Gen.  xviii :  19 ;  Noah  built  an  altar  for  his  family, 
G-en.  viii :  20 ;  the  patriarchs  built  altars  wherever  they 
resided,  Gen.  xii :  7,  and  xxxv  :  1,  3,  7.  Scripture  is  not 
silent  respecting  the  neglect  of  this  duty,  Jeremiah  x :  25  : — 
'Pour  out  thy  fury  on  the  heathen  that  know  thee  not, 
and  on  the  families  that  call  not  on  thy  name.'  Would 
such  a  denunciation  have  been  uttered  for  the  neglect  of 
family  devotions,  if  God  had  not  required  the  performance  ? 
That  this  duty  should  be  performed  daily,  morning  and 
evening,  we  have  evidence  from  the  appointment  of  the 
morning  and  evening  sacrifices  and  services  of  old.  Though 
the  ceremonies  of  Divine  worship  have  been  changed,  the 
worship  itself  has  not.  Former  institutions  of  Divine 
worship  remain  in  full  force  as  to  their  substance  and 
spirit,  the  ceremonial  and  typical  form  only  being  abolished. 
The  appointment  of  morning  and  evening  for  Divine  service 
Was  not  typical  —  it  was  moral  and  substantial,  Psalm 
xcii :  1,  2.  The  appointment  of  the  sacrifices  at  the  Temple 
was  not  a  substitute  for  the  moral  service  of  the  people, 
but  a  requisition  of  it  throughout  the  tribes  of  Israel  in 
their  families,  Luke  i:  9,  10;  1  Kings  viii:  37-40.  Observe 
therefore  and  revere  the  Scripture  admonitions  on  this  sub- 
ject;   imitate  in  your  practice  the  examples  recommended, 


308  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

and  you  will  find  conformity  to  them  and  family  devotions 
the  same  thing."  The  following  passage  on  the  delicate 
subject  of  instructing  slaves,  shows  at  once  the  courage 
and  prudence  of  the  author  and  his  zeal  for  the  glory  of 
Christ  and  the  salvation  of  men : 

"  On  the  subject  of  family  education  and  family  devotion, 
permit  us  to  lay  before  you  your  obligations  respecting 
your  slaves  :  we  do  not  detain  you  with  admonitions  to  feed 
and  clothe  them :  we  are  happy  to  say  that  the  necessity 
of  such  admonitions  is  precluded  as  far  as  our  observation 
extends.  Nor  is  it  our  admonition  at  present  to  set  them 
at  unconditional  liberty  under  present  circumstances.*  Nor 
is  it  our  present  design  to  discuss  their  natural  right  to 
liberty,  or  the  absurdity  of  the  supposition  that  this  was 
ever  forfeited  by  their  suffering  theft  and  sale  by  a  barbarous 
conqueror,  or  the  impossibility  that  a  pecuniary  compensation 
to  one  who  never  had  a  moral  right  over  the  person  and 
liberty  of  the  slave,  should  ever  procure  such  a  right  to  the 
purchaser;  all  which  we  hope  we  have  no  occasion  to  urge. 
Our  present  design  is  to  urge  what  the  law  of  God  and  sound 
reason  testify,  and  your  own  consciences  must  acknowledge 
to  be  a  duty  —  a  present  and  imperative,  but  much  neglected 
duty  —  the  religious  education  of  your  slaves." 

After  obviating  several  objections  to  the  duty,  and  show- 
ing by  several  Scriptures  that  the  education  of  the  poor 
afflicted  creatures  is  an  important  duty,  the  author  proceeds 
to  urge  to  the  performance  in  the  following  terms  :  u  Your 
slaves  have  been  taken  from  a  land  of  moral  darkness  to  a 
land  of  gospel  light ;  but  with  what  advantage  to  them,  if  in 
the  midst  of  light  they  walk  in  darkness  ?  Are  they  con- 
tented without  gospel  light  ?  So  are  your  children,  so  are  all 
mankind  by  nature.     But  by  the  means  of  grace,  and  the 

•  That  it  is  your  duty  to  encourage  a  spirit  of  regular  and  well  con- 
dncted  emancipation,  through  the  organ  of  civil  government  or  otherwise, 
wo  do  assort. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP   DR.    ANDERSON.  309 

blessing  of  the  Spirit,  the  unwilling  are  made  willing ;  you 
cannot  expect  to  find  them  willing  in  ignorance.  Imitate 
then  your  Lord  and  Master,  who  sought  the  lost  sheep.  If 
you  have  the  gospel  and  have  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious, 
would  you  monopolize  such  a  favor  ?  Would  you  not  be 
ready  to  say  even  to  your  servant,  0  taste  and  see  that  the 
Lord  is  good  :  come,  I  will  teach  you  the  fear  of  the  Lord  ? 
Should  not  love  to  Christ  induce  you  to  extend  the  means  of 
grace  which  you  have  enjoyed,  in  order  to  gain  souls  to  him  ? 
How  could  you  address  one  of  them  on  a  death  bed,  too  igno- 
rant to  understand  you  ?  How  could  you  put  up  a  petition 
for  the  dying  and  expect  a  gracious  hearing,  when  you  have 
withheld  that  knowledge  which  the  Holy  Spirit  blesses  for 
the  salvation  of  the  soul  ?  How  can  you  see  them  approach 
their  dreadful  end,  about  to  launch  into  eternal  misery,  and 
incapable  of  receiving  instruction  or  consolation  ?  How  can 
you  reflect  on  their  end,  without  remorse  and  horror,  remem- 
bering that  they  were  committed  to  your  care  for  instruction 
and  government,  and  you  betrayed  your  trust,  using  them  only 
for  your  temporal  interest.  Brethren,  ponder  well  these  real- 
ities. Try  these  things  by  the  word  of  Gk>d,  and  see  what 
verdict  conscience  must  return."  From  that  part  of  the  let- 
ter which  treats  of  popular  erroneous  sentiments,  a  single 
paragraph  is  presented.  "  The  position  that  we  ought  to 
admit  those  whom  we  judge  to  be  Christians  is  plausible,  but 
unfounded.  The  man  is  to  be  admonished  as  a  brother  whom 
we  exclude  from  our  communion,  2  Thess.  iii :  14,  15.  If 
we  make  grace  in  the  heart  the  rule  of  admission,  the  door 
is  set  open  for  every  deceiver — the  purity  of  the  church  is 
denied  to  be  an  object  of  her  regard,  and  the  way  is  opened 
for  the  introduction  of  every  error.  According  to  this  rule 
the  gospel  minister  is  necessitated  either  to  reprove  errors  and 
sins  from  the  pulpit,  which  he  has  indulged  in  admission  to 
communion,  or  to  prove  unfaithful  to  his  trust,  by  keeping 
back  part  of  the  counsel  of  Glod.     Where  truth  is  neglected 


310  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

and  forgotten,  piety  must  decay.  How  often  docs  the  Psalmist 
speak  of  his  love  to  God's  truth,  and  of  his  delight  in  it. 
But  is  it  consistent  with  a  holy  love  to  Divine  truth,  with  a 
knowledge  of  it  and  a  sense  of  its  importance,  to  neglect  or 
yield  it,  because  our  neighbor  loves  it  not,  or  does  not  believe 
it?" 

The  pastoral  letter,  at  the  contents  of  which  we  have 
glanced,  was  addressed  to  church  members  and  others  come 
to  maturity  of  understanding.  But  he  that  feeds  the  sheep 
should  feed  the  lambs  also.  The  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep 
requires  this,  John  xxi :  15,  and  true  policy  requires  it. 
That  reformation  must  be  ephemeral  which  overlooks  the 
instruction  and  improvement  of  the  rising  generation.  Our 
life  on  earth  is  but  a  shadow.  The  congregation  that  includes 
a  hundred  members,  may,  after  the  lapse  of  twenty  years, 
have  the  same  number  or  the  double  of  it,  but  it  will  be  found, 
on  a  careful  comparison  of  the  lists,  that  not  more  than  one 
fourth  of  the  original  members  are  still  remaining  as  compo- 
nent parts  of  the  society.  The  youthful  must  therefore  be  the 
subjects  of  any  improvement  which  it  is  desired  to  perpetuate. 
Assured  of  this,  and  recollecting  that  it  is  the  express  will  of 
God  that  the  fathers  should  make  known  his  testimony  and 
his  law  to  their  children,  that  the  generation  to  come  might 
know  them,  even  the  children  which  should  be  born,  who 
should  arise  and  declare  them  to  their  children,  Mr.  Ander- 
son employed  his  leisure  moments  in  preparing  a  system  of 
questions  on  the  Shorter  Catechism  of  the  Westminster 
Assembly.  He  intended  by  this  work  to  assist  parents  in 
catechizing  their  children;  but  his  principal  object  was  to 
excite  young  persons  seeking  after  the  knowledge  of  Divine 
things,  to  think  and  inquire  after  the  meaning  of  the  words 
which  they  were  accustomed  to  repeat.  And  accordingly  his 
questions  were  mere  questions.  No  answer  was  appended  to 
them.  Nothing  at  all  was  added  to  his  questions,  except  a 
reference  to  some  text  of   Scripture,  which  the  pupil  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  DR.   ANDERSON.  811 

under  the  necessity  of  hunting  up  and  considering  together 
with  the  text  of  the  Shorter  Catechism,  that  he  might  ascer- 
tain and  return  the  true  answer.  When  Mr.  Anderson  began 
this  work,  he  perhaps  intended  nothing  more  than  to  prepare 
himself  for  catechizing  with  care  the  youth  of  his  own  charge. 
But  when  he  had  gone  over  the  Assembly's  Shorter  Catechism, 
in  the  manner  that  has  been  noticed,  he  judged  that  the  work 
might  be  useful  to  congregations  and  families  generally,  and 
accordingly  he  gave  it  to  the  public  in  the  summer  of  1826. 
With  the  questions  and  answers  of  the  Shorter  Catechism  in 
large  type,  and  Mr.  Anderson's  questions  in  smaller  type, 
the  work  constitutes  a  volume  of  about  two  hundred  pages, 
duodecimo.  The  edition  published  was  small,  comprising 
but  eight  hundred  or  perhaps  a  thousand  copies,  all  of  which 
were  sold  in  a  short  time,  except  such  copies  as  Mr.  Ander- 
son was  pleased  to  distribute  gratuitously.  To  what  extent 
this  little  work  was  profitable  to  the  people  of  the  southern 
churches,  it  is  not  easy  to  say.  The  best  means  of  instruc- 
tion will  not  be  attended  with  happy  results,  if  they  are 
neglected,  and  catechisms  are  too  often  treated  with  neglect. 
The  writer,  who  about  that  time  was  commencing  his  minis- 
try in  the  same  Presbytery,  is  constrained  to  acknowledge 
that  Mr.  Anderson's  Catechism  was  very  useful  to  him, 
and  in  his  judgment  it  is  well  calculated  to  assist  both  parents 
and  children  in  the  acquisition  of  saving  knowledge.  He 
that  watereth,  shall  be  watered  himself,  and  no  doubt  Mr. 
Anderson  was  greatly  benefited  by  his  own  labors.  Whether 
he  excogitated  the  questions,  or  collected  them  from  the 
writings  of  others,  on  the  same  points,  his  writing  down  the 
questions,  and  searching  out  and  considering  the  texts 
appended,  must  have  resulted  in  increasing  his  familiarity 
with  the  principles  of  sacred  truth,  and  with  the  Scripture 
testimonies  on  which  they  depend.  The  nature  of  the  work 
precluded  the  display  of  keen  discernment  and  of  learned 
research,  and  all  that  is  claimed  for  Mr.  Anderson  on  the 


812  HISTORY   OP   JEFEERSOiN    COLLEGE. 

score  of  it,  is  that  bis  heart  was  so  set  on  doing  good,  that  he 
condescended  to  become  the  teacher  of  babes,  and  having 
devised  a  means  of  aiding  their  stu  lies,  he  carried  it  into 
execution  with  no  inconsiderable  labor,  being  excited  and 
animated  by  no  other  motive  besides  the  desire  and  hope  of 
contributing  to  the  improvement  of  many. 

About  the  time  that  he  began  to  prepare  his  Catechism, 
Mr.  James  Lyle,  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  was 
ordained  and  installed  as  pastor  of  the  congregations  of 
Smyrna  and  Little  River,  the  former  in  Chester,  and  the  latter 
in  Fairfield  district,  South  Carolina.  This  addition  to  the 
ministerial  force  of  the  Presbytery,  inured  to  Mr.  Anderson's 
advantage,  allowing  him  more  time  to  devote  to  his  Catechism 
and  other  studies,  than  he  could  otherwise  have  had.  From 
the  labor  of  traveling  to  supply  the  vacancies,  he  obtained 
additional  relief  by  the  ordination  and  installment  of  Mr.  W. 
M.  M'Elwee,  as  pastor  of  the  congregations  of  Tirzah  and 
Sharon,  both  in  York  district,  South  Carolina.  The  ordina- 
tion took  place  at  Sharon,  on  Thursday,  the  1st  day  of  April, 
1827;  Mr.  Anderson  preaching  the  sermon  from  John  xxi  : 
15,  17  ;  and  leading  in  the  prayer  of  consecration.  In  two 
or  three  weeks  after  this  solemnity,  Mr.  Anderson,  accompa- 
nied by  the  writer,  set  out  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the  Asso- 
ciate Synod  in  the  city  of  Pittsburgh.  The  journey  was  long, 
(the  distance  to  Pittsburgh  being  five  hundred  and  sixty  or 
seventy  miles,)  and  tedious,  for  there  were  no  rail-roads  in 
those  days,  nor  even  stage  coaches  on  the  required  line  :  it 
was  performed  on  horse-back,  and  occupied  between  ten  and 
eleven  weeks.  But  though  the  journey  was  tedious  and 
wearisome,  thei'e  was  one  circumstance  of  a  redeeming  char- 
acter. It  afforded  abundant  opportunities  for  friendly  con- 
ference. Of  the  talk  indulged  in  during  that  journey,  one 
item  is  distinctly  remembered.  We  were  returning  to  the 
South.  Alter  many  miles  of  Avearisoine  travel  among  the 
defiles  and  steeps  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  we  mounted  the  last 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP   DR.    ANDERSON.  313 

ana  loftiest  eminence,  from  which  we  have  an  extensive  view 
of  the  Atlantic  slope,  in  appearance  a  vast  plain  covered  with 
I  living  green,  and  at  that  juncture   redolent  with  the  flowers 
of  the  season.     The  writer  felt  and  expressed  delight  in  see- 
1  ing  once  more  the  sunny  South.     Mr.  Anderson  seemed  sad, 
I  and  said  in  reply,  that  it  appeared  to  him,  to  be  a  dry  and 
j  parched  land.     How  is  that ;  are  you  not  satisfied  with  your 
i location?     He  answered,  the  South  has  never  seemed  to  me 
as  my  home,  but  the  land  of  my  exile ;  and  then  went  on  to 
I  state  a  number  of  particular  objections,  of  which  the  princi- 
jpal  was  the  firm  establishment  of  the  peculiar  institution. 
I  This  it-em  of  conversation  is  related  for  the  purpose  of  show- 
ing that  though  Mr.  Anderson  had  been  living  in  the  South 
for  several  years,  he   was  still  a  northern  man   in   sentiment 
and   feeling.     We  are  apt  to   sympathize  with  the    people 
J  among  whom  we  dwell,  and  to  fall  in  with  their  usages  and 
(way  of  thinking,  and  it  has  been  supposed  by  some,  that  Mr. 
Anderson,  by  living  in  the  South  for  a  number  of  years, 
ilearned  to  sympathize  with  slave-holders,  and  with   slavery 
Itself.     The  supposition  does  him  great  injustice.     He  sym- 
pathized indeed  with  the  Christian  people  of  the  South  and 
cared  for  their  souls,  but  the   country  he   disliked,  and  the 
system  of  slave-holding  he  detested  as  an  incubus  on  Church 
and  State,  and  the  fell  destroyer  of  thousands.     Not  a  great 
while  after  the  conversation  related  above,  during  perhaps  the 
following  winter,  slave-holding  being  the  subject  of  conversa- 
ition,  Mr.  Anderson  declared  to  the  writer,  that  were  he  the 
father  of  a  family  and  the  possessor  of  real  estate  in  the  Caro- 
linas,  he  would  regard  it  as  his  duty  to  prepare  his  will,  and 
Iprovide  in  the  will  that  his  family  could  have  no  use  of  his 
property,  except  in  the  way  of  selling  it  and  conveying  the 
(proceeds  beyond  the  limits  of  the  slave-holding  States.     In 
(the  same  conversation,  or  in  some  other  about  that  time,  hav- 
ling  asked  Mr.  Anderson  if  his  opposition  to  slave-holding 
Iwras  the  reason  of  his  continuing  unmarried,  he  said  in  reply, 
!  27 


314  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

that  his  opposition  to  slave-holding  was  one  reason,  and  a 
principal  reason,  that  he  was  unwilling  to  be  more  firmly  tied 
to  the  South  than  he  was  at  present. 

In  the  spring  of  1828  Mr.  Anderson  changed  his  lodgings 
from  the  hospitable  mansion  of  Col.  Grier,  in  Steel  Creek,  to 
the  dwelling  of  Mr.  John  Wilson,  in  the  congregation  of 
Bethany.  There  was  no  dissension  between  Mr.  Anderson 
and  the  Colonel  or  his  family ;  nor  were  they  weary  of  himr 
or  he  of  them.  Mr.  Wilson  was  one  of  the  elders  of  the 
Bethany  branch,  and  remarkable  for  tender,  fervent  piety. 
His  partner  and  children  partook  of  the  same  spirit.  Their 
dwelling  and  their  company  were  inviting.  But  a  regard  for 
his  health  was  the  sole  motive  by  which  Mr.  Anderson  was 
prompted  to  make  the  exchange.  He  had  been  for  some  time 
troubled  with  febrile  excitement,  with  want  of  appetite,  and 
other  symptoms  of  a  diseased  liver.  The  Colonel's  habita- 
tion stood  on  a  low,  damp  plain,  two  miles  eastward  of  the 
Catawba  river.  Mr.  Anderson  thought  that  his  location  wa3 
in  some  measure  the  cause  of  his  illness,  and  promised  him- 
self better  health,  in  the  more  elevated  site  occupied  by  the 
Wilson  family. 

The  Associate  Synod  of  1828  met  in  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia, in  the  month  of  May.  Neither  Mr.  Anderson  nor  any 
other  member  of  the  Presbytery  of  the  Carolinas  was  in 
attendance,  except  the  Rev.  A.  Heron,  of  Rockbridge  county, 
Virginia.  Measures  were  commenced  in  that  Synodical  meet- 
ing, which  proved  fatal  to  the  congregations  of  the  Carolina 
Presbytery — measures  which  might,  perhaps,  have  been  pre- 
vented, had  Mr.  Anderson  been  present.  Mr.  John  K.,  a 
licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  Miami,  having  spent  the 
greater  part  of  the  preceding  winter  in  the  vacancies  of  the 
South,  went  up  to  the  meeting ;  and  though  not  entitled  to  a 
seat  in  Synod,  he  exerted  a  considerable  influence.  In  con- 
versation with  the  members,  he  told  that  the  brethren  in  the 
South  had  many  slaves;  and  that  very  few  of  the  slaves  were 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  DR.    ANDERSON.  315 

taught  to  read  the  holy  Scriptures — that  hardly  any  of  them 
were  church  members — that  in  most  of  the  families  they  were 
not  brought  into  the  house  in  the  time  of  family  worship — 
that  the  Act  of  1811,  in  regard  to  slave-holding,  was  inopera- 
tive, &c.  These  reports,  which  were  but  too  true,  being 
handed  from  one  to  another,  the  attention  of  Synod  was 
called  to  the  subject  of  slave-holding  by  a  particular  member ; 
and  after  some  discussion,  Synod  appointed  a  committee  to 
inquire  and  report  at  the  next  meeting,  whether  further  action 
in  regard  to  slave-holding,  teas  catted  for ;  and  if  in  their 
judgment  further  action  was  called  for,  what  that  action 
shoidd  be. 

Mr.  Anderson,  though  not  present,  was  appointed  one  of 
the  committee.  The  other  members  were  the  Rev.  James 
Adams,  of  Green  county,  Ohio,  and  the  Rev.  David  Carson, 
of  Blount  county,  Tennessee.  At  the  same  meeting  of  Synod, 
Mr.  Adams  was  appointed  for  five  or  six  months  on  what  was 
then  called  the  Missouri  Mission ;  and  Mr.  Anderson,  with 
the  view,  perhaps,  of  allowing  the  committee  an  opportunity 
of  meeting  and  consulting  together,  was  appointed  to  supply 
Mr.  Adams'  pulpit  for  three  months.  Shortly  after  informa- 
tion of  these  appointments  had  reached  the  South,  which  was 
about  the  1st  of  July,  Mr.  Anderson,  in  his  new  habitation, 
was  taken  with  a  severe  bilious  fever.  His  surviving  the 
attack  seemed  for  some  time  to  be  very  doubtful ;  and  his 
traveling,  according  to  the  appointment  of  Synod,  was  thought 
to  be  altogether  impracticable.  In  answer  to  the  prayers  of 
many,  the  merciful  Disposer  of  all  things  was  pleased,  how- 
ever, to  spare  him,  and  to  bring  him  up  again  from  the  gates 
of  death.  When  he  had  regained  a  measure  of  strength, 
though  still  weak  and  pallid,  he  set  out  on  horse-back,  on  a 
long  journey  of  about  eight  hundred  miles,  in  going  out,  and 
as  many  in  returning.  He  started  the  last  week  of  August, 
and  returned  towards  the  close  of  the  year,  much  invigorated, 
though  he  had  experienced  several  relapses  in  the  course  of 


316  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

his  tour.  Of  his  acceptablcness  to  the  brethren  among  •whom 
he  had  been  laboring,  he  was  followed  with  a  proof  which 
was  far  from  being  pleasant  to  his  many  friends  in  the  South. 
From  Xenia  to  Massie's  Creek,  where  he  had  preached  statedly 
for  three  months,  is  but  six  miles.  The  Associate  congrega- 
tion of  Xenia  was  at  that  time  without  a  pastor.  Many  of 
the  members  resorted  to  Massie's  Creek,  and  heard  Mr. 
Anderson  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  during  his  continuance 
there  :  all  heard  him  occasionally  in  their  own  place  of  wor- 
ship. Satisfied  with  his  deportment,  and  with  his  ministerial 
gifts  and  qualifications,  they  petitioned  the  Presbytery  of 
Miami  for  the  moderation  of  a  call,  and  concurred  unanimously 
in  calling  Mr.  Anderson  to  become  their  pastor.  The  call 
having  been  sustained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Miami,  was 
transmitted,  in  February  or  March,  to  the  Presbytery  of  the 
Carolinas,  for  presentation.  This  proof  of  the  high  esteem 
entertained  for  Mr.  Anderson  by  the  brethren  of  the  West 
was  unpleasant  to  the  people  of  the  South,  not  because  they 
thought  him  unworthy  of  esteem,  but  because  they  esteemed 
him  so  highly,  and  feared  that  the  call  from  Xenia  would 
issue  in  his  removal.  For  this  apprehension  there  were  ample 
grounds.  It  was  generally  known  that  Mr.  Anderson's  health 
was  not  good,  and  that  he  attributed  his  bad  health  to  the 
influence  of  the  climate.  It  was  known,  too,  that  he  did  not 
regard  with  favor  the  jteculiar  institution.  The  writer,  to 
whom  Mr.  Anderson  had  declared  his  dissatisfaction  with  the 
climate,  and  his  dislike  of  slavery,  frequently  and  earnestly, 
had  scarcely  a  doubt  that  he  would  accept  the  call  to  Xenia, 
and  be  lost  to  the  southern  churches.  The  day  of  decision 
came  round.  The  Presbytery  of  the  Carolinas  met  at  Steel 
Creek,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  April.  The  members  of  the 
congregation  of  Steel  Creek  were  generally  in  attendance. 
The  people  of  Xenia  were  heard  by  their  papers.  The  con- 
gregations of  Bethany  and  Steel  Creek  were  heard  through 
their  commissioners.     Regarding  the  case  as  important  and 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  DR.    ANDERSON.  317 

solemn  in  its  consequences,  the  Presbytery  directed  a  mem- 
ber to  lead  in  prayer.  The  member  designated  prayed  with 
tears  and  sobs,  and  all  present  were  deeply  affected.  After 
prayer,  the  call  was  presented  for  acceptance  or  rejection. 
Mr.  Anderson  arose  and  announced,  to  the  great  relief  and 
joy  of  all,  That  as  he  did  not  see  that  it  was  his  duty  to  leave 
his  present  post,  he  declined  the  call  to  Xenia.  From  this 
account  of  the  proceedings  of  that  day,  it  may  be  inferred 
that  Mr.  Anderson  reciprocated  the  affection  of  his  southern 
friends,  and  was  controlled  in  declining  the  call  to  Xenia  by 
his  feelings  alone.  Had  the  Presbytery  and  people  of  his 
charge  manifested  coldness  and  indifference,  it  is  indeed  prob- 
able that  his  determination  would  have  been  different  from 
what  it  was.  But  from  notes  found  among  his  papers,  it 
appears  that  he  had  solemnly  and  prayerfully  considered  the 
matter  of  his  removal  before  the  Presbytery  met,  and  had 
come  to  a  determination  respecting  it. 

In  these  times,  ministers  transfer  themselves  from  one  place 
to  another  so  frequently,  and  with  so  little  apparent  conside- 
ration, that  the  ministry  is  fallen  under  reproach  as  a  trade, 
which  certain  persons  follow  in  one  place  or  another,  as  seems 
most  advantageous  to  themselves.  It  is  but  too  probable  that 
many  ministers,  in  their  removals,  do  not  seriously  consider 
whether  they  are  following  the  line  of  duty  or  not.  But  Mr. 
Anderson  examines  carefully,  as  we  would  naturally  expect  a 
man  of  God  to  do.  In  his  argumentation  with  himself,  two 
principles  are  assumed ;  the  one  is,  that  it  is  sometimes  the 
duty  of  a  gospel  minister  to  change  the  field  of  his  labors ; 
the  other,  that  neither  usefulness  nor  comfort  can  be  reasona- 
bly expected  unless  the  change  be  made  in  accordance  with 
duty,  or  the  will  of  God.  Having  placed  himself  on  this 
foundation,  doubtless  a  solid  one,  Mr.  Anderson  lifted  his 
eyes  to  heaven,  looking  to  the  great  Counselor  for  light  to 
shoio,  and  grace  to  choose  the  path  of  duty.  And  besides 
praying  for  light,  he  endeavored  to  open  his  eyes  and  see, 
27* 


318  HISTORY    OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

noticing  and  weighing  the  arguments  pro  and  con.  Am<?ng 
the  considerations  which  he  thought  worthy  of  his  attention, 
it  is  remarkable  that  there  is  no  one  respecting  his  own  incli- 
nations, and  no  one  that  has  any  reference  to  his  worldly 
interest  or  credit.  It  seems  to  have  been  his  judgment  that 
such  considerations  should  be  disregarded  in  ordinary  cases 
of  the  kind ;  and,  beyond  doubt,  his  determination  to  con- 
tinue in  the  South  was  contrary  to  his  inclination,  as  when 
he  determined  to  tarry  longer  at  Fort  Meigs  for  the  defenc( 
of  the  place. 

During  his  tour  to  the  West,  Mr.  Anderson  met  and  con 
ferred  with  the  other  members  of  the  Committee  on  the  sub 
ject  of  slave-holding.  He  had  no  angry  disputations  with 
the  brethren,  whom  he  esteemed  very  highly,  yet  he  did  not 
accord  with  them  in  judgment.  Messrs.  Adams  and  Carson 
agreed  on  a  report  to  the  Synod  of  1829,  in  which  Mr.  Ander- 
son could  not  concur.  That  the  reader  may  understand  how 
the  parties  stood,  it  is  necessary  to  state  that  the  Synod  had 
carefully  examined  the  subject  of  slave-holding  in  1811,  and 
had,  after  many  prayers,  concluded  that  slave-holding  is  a 
moral  evil — that  slave-holders  in  the  Associate  Church  be 
required  to  emancipate  their  slaves,  if  the  State  in  which  they 
live  admit  of  emancipation — that  if  the  State  forbid  emanci- 
pation within  its  limits,  masters  may  hold  their  slaves,  not 
making  merchandise  of  them,  not  ruling  them  with  rigor,  but 
with  a  parental  sway,  feeding  and  clothing  them  comfortably, 
instructing  them  in  the  principles  of  our  holy  religion,  and 
treating  them  as  though  free,  by  giving  them  a  reward  for 
their  work. 

The  report  of  the  committee  went  further  than  this.  It 
admits — 

"  1.  That  children  born  in  a  state  of  slavery,  may  be  law- 
fully required  to  serve,  with  the  consent  of  their  parents,  for 
a  term  of  years  sufficient  to  remunerate  their  masters  for  their 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OP   DR.    ANDERSON.  319 

V 

support  and  education  ;  and  also,  without  the  consent  of  their 
parents,  if  remuneration  can  be  had  in  no  other  way. 

"  2.  That  persons  of  any  color  may,  for  their  crimes,  or  for 
the  payment  of  a  just  debt,  be  lawfully  sold  into  a  state  of 
servitude  for  any  term  of  years,  or  for  life,  yet  not  so  as  to 
affect  posterity. 

"  3.  That  persons  may  be  lawfully  held  in  a  state  of  servi- 
tude for  a  term  of  years,  or  for  life,  by  virtue  of  a  compact 
into  which  they  have  voluntarily  entered. 

"  4.  That  persons  who  are  held  as  slaves  by  the  laws  of 
the  civil  community,  may  be  lawfully  purchased,  at  their  own 
request,  and  their  services  used  by  the  purchaser,  for  a  term 
of  years,  or  for  life,  according  to  the  agreement  between  the 
purchaser  and  the  purchased. 

"  5.  That  persons  who  have  been  held  as  slaves  may,  for  a 
term  of  years,  be  detained  in  a  state  of  servitude,  according 
to  a  rule  of  Church  or  State,  tending  to  secure  more  effectu- 
ally their  emancipation,  and  their  own  or  the  community's 
future  safety  and  prosperity." 

The  report  maintains  that  the  holding  of  human  beings  in 
bondage,  is  in  all  other  cases  sinful,  and  concludes  with  the 
following  resolutions  : 

"  1.  That  slavery  be  considered  by  this  Synod  a  sin,  not  to 
be  tolerated  in  any  of  the  members  of  our  communion. 

"  2.  That  the  selling  of  a  slave,  as  transferable  property, 
by  any  person  in  our  communion,  is  censurable. 

"3.  That  the  holding  of  a  slave,  in  any  case  not  specified 
in  the  above  few  particulars,  is  censurable. 

"  4.  That  measures  be  taken  to  procure  the  incorporation 
of  a  company,  composed  of  certain  persons  to  be  chosen  by 
Synod,  for  the  purpose  of  legalizing  the  emancipation  of 
slaves  held  by  our  members,  (the  duty  of  such  incorporation 
to  be  explained  in  detail  hereafter,)  and  that  a  committee  bo 
appointed  to  make  arrangements  to  this  effect." 


320  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

These  were  the  views  of  the  majority  of  the  committee,  in 
which,  as  has  been  noticed,  Mr.  Anderson  did  not  concur. 
Wherein  he  differed,  and  for  what  reasons,  will  be  shown  here- 
after. At  present  I  will  merely  state  that  Dr.  John  Ander- 
son, whom  Mr.  Abraham  Anderson  had  been  accustomed  from 
his  youth  to  revere  as  a  ripe  scholar  and  a  devout  Christian, 
had  vindicated  that  toleration  of  slave-holding  granted  in  the 
Act  of  1811  by  several  considerations.  Dr.  John  Anderson 
had  taught  that  private  citizens  should  bear  many  hardships 
and  wrongs,  rather  than  disturb  the  peace  and  harmony  of 
the  society  in  which  they  live  ;  and  as  citizens  should  pursue 
this  meek  and  quiet  course,  so  they  should  allow  their  colored 
neighbors  to  suffer  wrong  and  temporal  hardships,  rather  than 
disturb  the  peace  and  order  of  the  community  in  attempts  to 
relieve  them.  He  had  also  taught  that  a  private  individual 
is  not  to  be  faulted  for  withholding  civil  rights  and  privileges 
from  another,  when  it  is  not  in  his  power  to  confer  those  rights 
and  privileges  on  the  other.  These  sentiments  Mr.  Ander- 
son had  imbibed  in  early  life.  He  was  by  education,  and 
perhaps  by  natural  temperament,  a  conservative,  and  there- 
fore slow  to  believe  that  the  new  wine  is  better  than  the  old. 
It  may  be  added,  that  living  in  the  midst  of  the  slave  terri- 
tory, Mr.  Anderson  was  more  fully  acquainted  with  the  obsta- 
cles in  the  way  of  emancipation  than  the  other  members  of 
the  committee  could  well  be.  They  no  doubt  thought  that 
their  project  could  be  carred  into  effect  with  advantage  to  the 
southern  churches  ;  but  Mr.  Anderson  was  fully  apprized  that 
the  remedy,  if  applied,  would  prove  the  ruin  of  all  the  con- 
gregations belonging  to  the  Presbytery  of  the  Carolinas. 

Mr.  Anderson  did  not  attend  the  meeting  of  Synod  in  1829 ; 
and  his  objections  not  being  known,  the  report  of  the  majority 
of  the  committee  was,  without  any  considerable  opposition, 
adopted  as  an  overture,  and  handed  down  to  the  Presbyteries 
and  Sessions  for  their  judgment. 

The  overture  came  to  the  South  with  the  minutes  of  1829, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OF  DR.    ANDERSON.  321 

and  was  read  by  several  ministers  (if  not  all)  to  their  congre- 
gations, though  the  public  reading  of  such  a  paper  was  con- 
trary to  the  law  of  the  land.  Many  Seceders  disapproved  of 
the  reading,  and  some  of  the  citizens  threatened  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  law,  but  no  minister  was  molested. 

The  latter  part  of  the  summer  of  1829  Mr.  Anderson  spent 
in  Monroe  county,  Virginia,  seeking  health  in  the  use  of  the 
mineral   waters   of   that   district.     He   returned  before   the 
meeting  of  Presbytery  in  October,  somewhat  improved.     The 
attention  of  the  Presbytery,  at  that  meeting,  was  turned  to 
the  overture.     After  some  remarks  about  the  course  which  it 
was  incumbent  on  the  Presbytery  to  pursue,  it  was  resolved 
unanimously  to  remonstrate  against   the  overture,  and  Mr. 
Anderson  was  appointed   to  draught  the  remonstrance.     In 
the  course  of  the  winter  Mr.  Anderson  prepared  a  paper  for 
that  purpose,  which,  having  been  read  in  the  spring  meeting  of 
1830,  the  Presbytery  adopted  without  altering  so  much  as  a 
word,  and  ordered  the  remonstrance  to  be  forwarded  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  Synod,  to  meet  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  in 
uhe  month  of  May.     The  writer  carried  up,  and  presented  the 
document,  and  observed  the  impression  produced  by  it.     All 
attended  while  the  paper  was  being  read  with  evident  interest. 
Irritation  and  dissatisfaction  were  visible  in  the  countenances 
of  some.     When  the   reading  was  finished,   a  talented  and 
|  influential  member  pronounced  the  remonstrance  a  very  able 
j  document,  said  that  he  knew  who  was  its  author,  and  moved 
|  that  a  committee  should  be  appointed  to  answer  it.     Others 
objected,  and  it  was  finally  concluded  to  publish  the  remon- 
I  strance  with  the  minutes  of  Synod,  and  to  defer  further  action 
|  on  the  subject  of  slave-holding  till  the  next  meeting. 

A  great  majority  of  the  ministers  and  members  of  the  Asso- 
j  ciate  Church  were,  as  they  are  still,  earnestly  opposed  to 
|  slave-holding ;  and  as  he  who  opposes  a  particular  method  of 
!  removing  an  evil,  is  apt  to  be  regarded  by  the  earnest  advo- 
]  cates  of  that  method  as  favoring  the  evil  and  desiring  the 


322  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  college. 

continuance  of  it,  Mr.  Anderson  fell,  in  consequence  of  his 
able  paper,  under  suspicion  and  reproach  among  the  brethren 
in  the  North.  It  was  concluded  by  many  that  the  South  had 
seduced  him,  and  that  he  was  bound  with  chains  to  the  iron 
car  of  the  slave-holders. 

With  the  view  of  vindicating  his  reputation  as  an  anti- 
slavery  man,  and  showing  at  the  same  time  his  candor  and 
courtesy  in  reasoning  with  opponents,  and  his  great  ability  in 
handling  a  knotty,  difficult  question,  the  following  extracts 
from  the  remonstrance  are  submitted  for  consideration  : 

"  Far  be  it  from  us,  (see  minutes  of  1830,  page  35,)  to 
defend  either  the  principle  or  the  practice  of  slavery,  or  to 
endeavor  to  effect  in  Synod  even  an  unnecessary  delay  in 
removing  the  evil.  Involuntary  servitude  is  a  sin,  a  heinous 
sin,  and  indefensible  by  the  laws  of  nature  or  of  revelation. 
It  involves  the  nation  in  guilt  whenever  permitted  by  the 
government,  but  especially  when  it  is  maintained  by  legisla- 
tive authority,  and  the  chains  of  slavery  are  riveted  by  iniqui- 
tous laws.  We  are  convinced  that  to  our  country,  and 
especially  to  the  slave  States,  slavery  threatens  moral,  religious, 
and  political  ruin — that  the  native  influence  of  this  practice, 
and  the  judgments  of  God  for  this  sin,  have  already  produced 
many  bitter  fruits,  and  threaten  much  more — that  even  tem- 
poral happiness  cannot  long  exist  in  the  present  state  of  things. 
We  believe  it  is  the  duty  of  civil  government  to  adopt  mea- 
sures for  emancipation,  and  we  view  with  grief  and  alarm 
their  apathy  on  this  subject.  Infatuation  has  supervened; 
and  providential  threatenings  only  rouse  our  legislators,  as 
Pharaoh  of  old,  to  multiply  the  chains  of  slavery  and  bind 
them  faster. 

"  It  may  now  be  asked,  after  all  these  concessions,  can  you 
hesitate  a  moment  about  the  duty  of  adopting  the  articles  of 
the  overture  ?  We  reply,  as  soon  as  the  Synod  shall  find  a 
practicable  and  lawful  plan  of  emancipation,  let  these  articles 
be  adopted  ;  but  not  till  then.     Sinful  as  slavery  is,  it  is  not 


. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   DR.    ANDERSON.  323 

more  so  than  a  plan  of  emancipation  might  be  made  to  be. 
It  is  not  every  measure  of  escaping  a  sin  that  will  acquit  us 
of  guilt.  Shall  we  presume  that  our  good  intentions  will 
justify  whatever  measures  rashness,  or  mistake,  might  lead  us 
to  adopt  ?  Shall  we  do  evil,  that  good  may  come  ?  The 
Synod,  in  1811,  were  as  anxious  to  effect  the  complete  aboli- 
tion of  slavery  as  they  are  now;  and  nothing,  we  believe, 
but  insurmountable  obstacles,  or  at  least  what  they  judged 
such,  led  them  to  adopt  the  measures  they  did.  If  Divine 
Providence  has  since  opened  a  door  which  they  did  not  enjoy, 
or  given  us  additional  light,  let  us  promptly  improve  our 
advantages.  But  it  is  possible  we  have  lost  sight  of  those 
obstacles  which  then  checked  their  laudable  designs,  and 
obstacles  which  yet  exist  in  all  their  force.  It  cannot,  there- 
fore, be  improper  to  take  a  view  of  these  impediments,  that 
if  they  cannot  be  surmounted  or  removed,  we  may  wait  for 
Divine  Providence  to  open  our  way ;  and  if  they  can,  that 
we  may  intelligently  and  deliberately  lay  our  plans  for  doing  so. 

"  In  laying  before  Synod  the  difficulties  to  which  we  have 
alluded,  we  shall  consider,  in  order,  three  methods  of  emanci- 
pation, which,  as  far  as  our  knowledge  extends,  are  the  only 
methods  that  have  been  proposed,  or  that  occur  to  us  as  pos- 
sible: —  Colonization,  transfer  of  the  slaves  to  a  free  State, 
and  emancipation  at  home. 

"  The  Colonization  Society  might  afford  some  aid  in  effect- 
ing our  object.  But  — (1.)  The  funds  of  that  Society  are  as 
yet  inadequate  to  such  an  extensive  operation  as  we  propose. 
(2.)  Though  some  slave-holders  might  avail  themselves  of 
the  privileges  of  that  Society  by  advancing  funds  for  the 
transportation  of  their  own  slaves,  yet  many  masters  could 
not  command  such  funds.  (3.)  It  is  a  condition  with  the 
Society,  that  the  slaves  be  willing  to  go  to  their  colony.  Now 
a  few  might  be  willing  to  go,  and  if  funds  could  be  obtained, 
they  might  be  emancipated.  But  some  who  are  willing  to  go, 
could  not  be  sent  for  want  of  funds ;  and  those  who  are 


324  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

unwilling  must,  on  this  plan,  remain  in  slavery.  This  method, 
therefore,  cannot  effect  the  complete  abolition  of  slavery  in 
our  communion. 

"  The  second  plan  of  emancipation  is  to  transfer  the  slaves 
to  the  free  States.  This  plan  is  also  attended  with  difficul- 
ties : 

"  1st.  By  this  plan,  slaves  would  not  be  free ;  they  would 
be  governed,  but  not  represented ;  fixed  by  force  and  power 
in  the  lowest  grade  of  society. 

"  2d.  Many  masters,  who  can  support  their  slaves  under 
their  care,  could  not  give  them  any  means  of  subsistence,  if 
put  away. 

"  3d.  There  is  reason  to  fear  that  such  an  influx  of  colored 
population  into  the  free  States  as  this  measure  proposes, 
would  be  prohibited. 

"  4th.  Many  masters  would  not  be  able  to  furnish  the 
funds  necessary  to  carry  their  slaves  to  a  free  State.  "Without 
some  provision,  therefore,  by  Synod  to  meet  this  difficulty, 
this  method  of  emancipation  must  of  necessity  fail  of  effecting 
our  object. 

"  5th.  Though  a  master  could  afford  the  funds  necessary 
to  transfer  his  slaves  to  a  free  State,  but  would  deny  his 
ability,  by  what  means  could  the  church  reduce  her  rules  to 
practice  ?  Could  she  undertake  to  examine  the  niinuitse  of 
his  estate,  pronounce  that  he  is  able  to  transport  his  slaves 
at  his  own  expense,  and  require  him  to  do  so  under  pain  of 
suspension  or  excommunication  ?  Synod  could  not,  after 
aiding  one  master  in  emancipating  his  slaves,  command 
another  to  do  it  at  his  own  expense. 

"  6th.  Many  slaves  are  aged  and  infirm,  and  in  most  cases 
their  masters  could  not  provide  for  them  without  the  services 
of  the  younger  slaves. 

"  7th.  Emancipation  would  not  only  be  attended  with  loss, 
but  in  some  cases  with  bankruptcy.  It  would  place  some 
masters  on  the  pauper  list,  and  make  them  dependent  on  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  DR.    ANDERSON.  325 

I 

county  funds.  This  might  subject  our  measures  to  partial, 
and  even  to  utter  defeat  by  the  State. 

"  8th,  Many  slaves  are  of  such  a  character  as  not  to  war- 
rant their  masters  to  comply  with  the  requisitions  of  free 
States  in  order  to  their  admission ;  and  as  masters  cannot 
be  compelled  to  give  their  slaves  freedom  under  this  condi- 
tion, such  slaves  must  remain  in  servitude. 

"  9th.  Many  slaves  would  not  be  willing  to  go  to  Africa, 
or  even  to  a  free  State.  Not  a  few  would  be  found  of  this 
description.  To  oblige  them  to  go  would  be  to  interfere  with 
their  just  rights,  and  still  further  curtail  what  the  practice 
of  slavery  has  curtailed  too  far.  It  would  impose  a  punish- 
ment which  the  case  does  not  seem  to  warrant.  They  would 
account  it  banishment  to  be  removed,  and  would  prefer 
perpetual  slavery.  To  banish  them  from  the  soil  and  climate 
where  all  their  endeared  associations  are,  —  to  banish  them 
for  no  crime,  and  when  the  necessity  of  the  case  is  not 
imperious,  would  be  substituting  cruelty  and  injustice  for 
kindness.  They  must  by  this  measure  be  separated,  not 
only  from  an  endeared  home,  perhaps  an  endeared  master, 
(the  case  is  not  uncommon,)  .but  also  from  their  relatives, 
when  these  are  divided  among  several  masters,  as  they 
generally  are,  and  among  masters  who  would  not  emancipate, 
and  from  whom  the  emancipator  could  not  buy.  It  may, 
perhaps,  be  urged,  in  the  spirit  of  the  3d  preliminary  of  the 
overture,  that  those  slaves  who  are  unwilling  to  go  to  Africa, 
or  elsewhere  out  of  the  slave  States,  having  now  the  offer 
of  freedom,  may  bind  themselves  to  servitude,  and  the  master 
be  innocent.  We  reply,  we  think  indeed  the  master  would 
be  innocent ;  not  because  he  is  by  this  compact  free  from  the 
practice  of  slavery,  but  because,  in  taking  this  step,  he  can 
do  no  better.  Therefore,  though  the  master  be  innocent  in 
such  a  compact,  (the  maxim,  Of  two  moral  evils,  choose 
neither,  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,)  yet  an  object 
contemplated  in  the  overture,  the  complete  abolition  of 
28 


826  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

slavery  m  our  communion,  is  not  obtained.  The  slave,  by 
whatever  form  of  bond  he  obligates  himself  to  his  master 
while  the  State  does  not  recognise  his  freedom,  is  in  his 
master's  power  as  much  as  ever, — he  is  a  slave  by  the  law 
of  the  State,  and  deprived  of  all  his  civil  rights  of  which  he 
was  deprived  before.  He  is,  with  all  bis  offspring,  liable  to 
seizure  for  his  master's  debts,  and  liable  to  be  claimed  by 
legatees,  even  though  by  will  and  testament  declared  free  in 
the  State.  Even  though  the  master  had  bequeathed  him 
privileges  and  immunities  which  the  laws  do  not  recognise, 
they  all  pass  for  nothing.  These  considerations  show  an 
inconsistency  between  the  first  five  preliminaries  in  the  over- 
ture, and  a  proposition  which  requires  the  Synod  to  take 
measures  for  putting  it  out  of  the  power  of  any  of  our 
members  to  hold  a  slave  in  such  a  state,  that  he  may  be 
transferred  as  the  property  of  the  holder.  All  the  cases 
admitted  in  these  preliminaries  leave  the  slave  transferable, 
by  either  the  master  or  the  State. 

"  The  third  method  of  removing  slavery  from  our  com- 
munion, is  emancipation  in  the  State.  Here  we  shall  offer 
but  one  objection,  which  is,  that  the  laws  of  the  slave-holding 
States  forbid  such  emancipation.  A  slave  cannot  be  made 
free  in  a  slave  State.  This  plan,  therefore,  under  existing 
laws,  is  impracticable,  and  must  be  rejected.  But  here  we 
meet  with  a  last  resort,  and  if  correct,  an  effectual  measure 
for  the  complete  abolition  of  slavery  in  our  communion.  It 
is  proposed  in  the  overture  that  if  the  laws  of  the  State  have 
cut  off  a  rational  prospect  of  liberating  the  slave,  either  im- 
mediately, or  at  any  period  nearly  approaching,  it  then 
becomes  the  imperious  duty  of  the  individual  slave-holder  to 
free  his  own  hands  of  the  sin  by  relinquishing  his  unjust 
claim,  and  leaving  teh  guilt  of  it  on  the  community.  By 
relinquishing  his  unjust  claim,  we  understand  laying  no  claim 
whatsoever  to  the  slave, — literally  manumitting  him.  If 
this  be  not  the  meaning  of  the  sentence  quoted,  we  see  no 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP  DR.    ANDERSON.  327 

meaning  in  it  at  all.  We  are  sorry  to  see  this  proposition 
seriously  advanced;  and  still  more  sorry  should  we  be,  with 
all  our  abhorrence  of  slavery,  to  see  it  reduced  to  practice. 
We  do  consider  it,  under  the  circumstances  with  which 
;  slavery  is  at  present  connected,  at  war  with  the  rules  of 
j  morality.  But  as  it  may  not  appear  to  all  as  exceptionable 
as  it  does  to  us,  we  shall  examine  it  more  particularly. 

"  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  inevitable  consequence  of 

quitting  all  claim  to  the  slave,  and  leaving  him  in  the  slave 

State,  which  the  proposition  supposes,  is  perpetual  slavery 

'  for  him  and  his  posterity  under  existing  laws.     Let  us  then 

I  examine  the  operation  of  this  measure. 

"  1st.  The  measure  proposed  would  confer  no  degree  of 
,  favor  on  the  slave  ;  it  would  not  restore  his  rights,  render 
!  justice,  nor  amend  his  circumstances. 

"  2d.     The  measure  proposed  would  be  a  profligate  waste 

of  the  powers  and  privileges  which  slave-holders  possess.     All 

I  slave-holders  have  the  power  to  use  their  slaves  more  humanely 

.  than  the  laws  compel  them  to  do,  and  more  humanely  than 

!  they  are  generally  used  throughout   the  slave  States.      They 

j  can  teach,  while  others  raise  them  in  ignorance ;   they  can 

feed  and  clothe,  while  others  starve  them.     And  if  ever  a 

time  should  come  when   the   liberation   of  slaves  would  be 

possible,  though  not  required  by  the  State,  by  this  one  rash 

act  in  adopting  the  measure  proposed,  the  power  of  benefiting 

the   slave  would  be   for  ever  lost.     Does  not  moral  justice 

I  require  us  to  be  more  frugal  of  our  power,  than  to  throw  it 

i  away  to  no  purpose  ? 

"  3d.  By  the  measure  proposed  we  should  be  doing  positive 
I  injury  to  the  slave,  exposing  him  to  oppression,  starvation,  &c. 
"  4th.  The  proposition  we  are  opposing  virtually  counter- 
j  acts  the  second  article  of  the  overture,  which  forbids  the 
j  sale  of  slaves.  If  we  deliver  over  our  servant  to  perpetual 
i  slavery,  as  this  measure  proposes,  we  do  all  that  is  evil  in 
i  Felling  him. 


328  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON   COLLEQE. 


"  5th.  By  following  the  method  proposed,  we  will  not  free 
our  own  hands  of  the  sin  of  slavery.  How  shall  we  free  our 
hands  of  this  sin,  by  exposing  our  servants  and  their  offspring 
to  inevitable  and  perpetual  slavery  ?  Neither  the  laws  of 
God  nor  of  man,  as  far  as  we  have  discovered,  have  made  a 
difference  in  the  guilt  of  delivering  and  of  receiving  a  stolen 
article,  unless  perhaps  they  furnish  an  inference,  that  the 
first  is  more  criminal ;  nor  between  the  guilt  of  inflicting  an 
unjust  punishment  by  our  own  hand,  or  by  the  hand  of 
another.  And  by  whatever  circuitous  method  we  do  the  one 
or  the  other,  it  is  the  same  guilt.  To  deliver  the  slave, 
therefore,  over  to  the  civil  law,  to  be  sold  according  to  its 
known  regulations,  is  the  same  as  to  do  it  ourselves.  David 
was  as  guilty  of  murdering  Uriah  by  the  hand  of  the  Amorites, 
as  though  he  had  done  it  with  his  own  hand." 

After  urging  that  the  measure  proposed  would  be  unkind 
and  cruel  to  the  slaves,  the  remonstrance  proceeds  in  the 
following  terms,  page  43 — "  "We  acknowledge  that  in  the 
case  under  consideration  the  only  alternatives  are,  to  set  the 
slave  free  from  our  hands  into  inevitable  and  perpetual 
slavery,  or  to  retain  him  for  the  time  in  slavery  to  ourselves. 
Having  rejected  the  former,  we  must  adopt  the  latter.  But 
here  we  are  met  by  the  formidable  axiom,  Of  two  moral  evils, 
there  is  never  a  necessity  to  choose  either.  In  the  overture 
this  axiom  is  immediately  applied  to  the  case  before  us.  One 
would  suppose  tlie  inference  now  is,  Since  there  are  two  moral 
evils  in  our  choice,  slavery  and  the  above  alternative,  we 
should  choose  neither,  but  adopt  some  other  method  of  eman- 
cipation. This,  however,  does  not  appear  to  be  the  inference 
intended ;  but  it  is  taken  for  granted  that  slavery,  in  all 
circumstances,  is  sinful,  and  that  therefore  by  the  axiom, 
this  method  of  emancipation  is  not.  Why  not  reverse  the 
application  of  the  axiom  thus  —  The  method  of  emancipation 
proposed  is  sinful,  and  therefore  slavery,  in  comparison,  is 
innocent  ?     The  truth  of  the  axiom  we  do  not  deny,  but  we 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  DR.    ANDERSON.  329 

do  tliink  it  is  misapplied  in  the  overture.  The  error  lies  in 
supposing  an  action  sinful  in  certain  circumstances,  and  there- 
fore  sinful  in  all  circumstances.  But  some  actions  no  cir- 
cumstances can  justify;  others  depend  on  circumstances  for 
their  justification  or  condemnation.  To  kill  a  neighbor  is 
sinful  in  certain  cases,  and  not  in  others ;  to  labor  on  the 
Sabbath  is  sinful  in  certain  cases,  and  not  in  others ;  so, 
while  it  is  sinful  to  deprive  a  man  of  his  liberty  by  violence, 
or  to  keep  him  in  bondage  by  force  and  power  when  he 
might  be  free  of  his  choice,  it  does  not  follow  that  to  keep 
him  in  slavery  till  emancipation  becomes  possible,  and  till  it 
may  be  done  without  cruelty  and  injustice,  is  also  sinful." 

What  the  Scriptures  teach  as  to  the  matter  on  hand,  is 
declared  in  the  following  language,  page  46— "  That  the 
apostles  did  receive  to  the  communion  of  the  church  both 
masters  and  servants,  without  requiring  emancipation  as  a 
term  of  admission,  we  think  cannot  be  denied.  For  proof  of 
this  we  appeal  to  1  Cor.  vii :  20-24 ;  Eph.  vi :  5,  9.  Now, 
what  shall  we  do  with  these  stubborn  facts  ?  Shall  we  evade 
them  by  saying,  as  in  the  overture,  that  it  is  not  necessary 
to  understand  the  name  servant,  so  frequently  used  in  the 
New  Testament  Scriptures,  to  mean  slaves,  while  the  term  is 
frequently  used  to  denote  a  hireling?  This  is  irrelevant; 
for  though  we  should  acknowledge  that  the  name  servant 
frequently  means  hireling  in  the  New  Testament,  yet  if  in 
any  cases  in  which  the  apostles  gave  directions  to  masters 
and  servants  as  such,  and  as  members  of  the  church,  they 
used  it  to  denote  slaves,  the  question  is  decided.  That  the 
apostles  did  use  the  name  servant  in  the  latter  sense,  is  clear 
from  1  Cor.  vii :  21,  and  1  Tim.  vi :  1,  2." 

On  the  question,  How  could  the  apostles  tolerate  slave- 
holding?  the  remonstrance  states,  page  47 — -"That  it  was 
not  in  their  commission  to  lay  the  hand  of  miraculous  power 
on  the  nations,  and  model  their  governments  by  the  rules  of 
holy  Scripture ;  this  work  was  left  to  the  oerumon  providence 
28* 


330  filSTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

of  God,  and  tho  operation  of  moral  and  physical  causes  in  his 
hand.  While,  therefore,  the  lloinan  government  was  per- 
mitted, in  Divine  Providence,  to  continue  in  the  form  it  then 
had,  and  to  maintain  the  laws  it  then  did,  entire  emancipa- 
tion was  impossible.  Slavery,  then,  was  permitted  in  church 
members  by  the  apostles,  on  the  same  principles  for  which 
We  plead — on  the  principles  of  necessity  ;  because  the  remedy 
Was  not  in  their  hand.'' 

These  extracts  are  submitted  for  the  purposes  already 
-mentioned,  and  not  with  any  view,  thought,  or  desire  of 
reviving  an  old  controversy. 

The  Synod  of  1831  was  appointed  to  meet  in  Canonsburg, 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Anderson  went  up 
to  the  meeting,  accompanied  by  the  Writer.  We  started  about 
the  middle  of  April,  and  traveled  the  same  route  as  in  1827 ; 
but  in  carriages,  and  not  on  the  saddle,  as  in  1827. 

We  reached  Canonsburg  towards  the  close  of  the  third 
week.  Our  relatives  and  Christian  friends  rejoiced,  and  we 
rejoiced  with  them.  Our  joy,  however,  was  moderated  by 
frequent  thoughts  of  our  ecclesiastical  position,  and  of  the 
Worse  predicament  in  which  we  might,  and  perhaps  would  be, 
placed  by  the  action  of  the  coming  Synod.  We  were  not 
personally  interested  in  the  slave  question.  Neither  of  us 
claimed  the  distinction  of  being  the  master  of  a  fellow-mortal. 
But  as  connected  with  our  congregations  and  the  congrega- 
tions of  our  Presbytery,  we  were  laid  under  a  heavy  charge  by 
the  overture  of  1829.  By  a  resolution  of  Synod  adopted  in 
1830,  we  were  required  also  to  show  the  extent  of  our  guilt ; 
and  from  what  we  knew  of  northern  sentiment,  we  feared  that 
we  had  to  encounter  a  vehement  wind — such  as  would  over- 
turn and  scatter  our  congregations,  as  the  North-wester  which 
fell  upon  us  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge  overturned  trees 
and  fences,  scattering  the  fragments  in  every  direction.  In 
this  expectation  we  were  disappointed.  The  Synod  met  on 
Wednesday,  the  l?Lth  of  May. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH   OP   DR.    ANDERSON.  33 1 

[Dr.  Anderson's  biographer  then  gives  a  full  account  of 
the  action  of  the  Synod  on  the  subject  of  slavery — of  the 
course  pursued  by  Dr.  Anderson  and  his  southern  brethren — ■ 
of  the  final  dissolution  of  their  pastoral  relations,  and  their 
removal  from  the  southern  States.  Though  the  whole  state- 
ment is  interesting  and  affecting,  and  though  many  would 
read  with  admiration  the  strenuous  efforts  of  Dr.  Anderson 
in  the  Synod,  and  in  the  South,  to  avert  the  calamity  of  the 
complete  breaking  up  of  the  Secession  body  in  the  southern 
States,  we  must  omit  this  part  of  the  narrative.  Dr.  Ander- 
son, though  decidedly  opposed  to  slavery,  would  have  guided 
the  Secession  Church  to  a  wiser  course,  in  the  judgment  of 
many,  could  his  counsels  have  prevailed.  But  he  conscien- 
tiously believed  it  his  duty  to  submit  to  the  decisions  of  his 
Synod.  He  left  his  large  and  interesting  charge  in  Carolina, 
having  received  a  call  to  a  congregation  in  Washington  county, 
New  York.  In  his  charge,  consisting  of  Steel  Creek  and 
Bethany  congregations,  were  two  hundred  and  five  slaves,  of 
whom  were  sixty-nine  readers,  eight  communicants,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty-seven  catechumens.  Yet,  from  a  sense  of 
duty,  having  promised  obedience  to  his  brethren  in  the  Lord, 
he  withdrew,  forever,  from  these  poor  sons  of  Ham.] 

Before  the  meeting  of  Presbytery  in  1833,  a  call  came  to 
hand  from  the  Associate  congregation  of  Hebron,  Washing- 
ton county,  New  York,  which,  being  presented  by  the  Pres- 
bytery, Mr.  Anderson  accepted  of  it,  and  demitted  the  pastoral 
care  of  Bethany  and  Steel  Creek.' 

As  soon  as  the  weather  and  roads  were  in  such  a  state  as 
to  admit  of  comfortable  traveling,  Mr.  Anderson  took  his 
final  leave  of  the  South,  and  of  his  respectful,  loving  parish- 
ioners. No  doubt  there  was  heaviness  on  his  part,  and  tears 
and  sobs  with  them.  Had  he  possessed  the  spirit  of  prophecy, 
he  might  have  said  as  Paul  did  to  the  cllcrs  of  Epiiesus — ■ 
i(  And  now,  behold,  I  know  that  ye  all,  among  ichom  I  have 
gone  preaching  the  kingdom   of  God,  shall  see  my  face  no 


332  HISTORY  OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

more  ;"  for  such  was  the  event.  They  saw  him— they  heard 
his  solemn,  affectionate  voice  no  more. 

He  made  his  way  to  New  York  in  safety,  and  commenced 
his  ministerial  career  in  Hebron  about  the  1st  of  June. 

Mr.  Anderson's  new  field  of  labor  was  much  more  limited 
than  the  former ;  and,  of  consequence,  he  had  more  time  for 
reading  and  meditation,  and  being  less  exposed,  his  health 
was  more  uniform.  He  applied  himself  with  earnestness  and 
diligence  to  his  proper  work  as  a  minister  of  Christ— preach- 
ing, visiting,  catechizing,  &c,  as  in  the  South  ;  and,  without 
any  special  efforts,  he  attained  in  a  short  time  to  a  distin- 
guished standing  among  the  ministers  and  brethren  of  Cam- 
bridge Presbytery. 

After  the  resignation  of  Professor  John  Anderson,  of  Ser- 
vice, in  1820,  there  were  two  schools  of  the  prophets  under 
the  care  of  the  Associate  Synod,— one  in  Philadelphia,  super- 
intended by  Rev.  John  Banks,  D.  D.,  and  the  other  in  Can- 
onsburg,  superintended  by  Rev.  James  Ramsey,  D.  D.  Doc- 
tor Banks  being  removed  by  death  in  1829,  it  was  concluded 
to  cast  the  two  Seminaries  into  one,  and  place  over  the  united 
Seminary  two  Professors, — the  first  to  be  called  the  Professor 
of  Didactic  and  Polemic  Theology,  and  the  second  to  be  styled 
Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  and  Ecclesiastical  History. 
The  Synod  of  1831  located  the  united  Seminary  in  Canons- 
burg,  and  elected  Dr.  Ramsey  to  the  Professorship  of  Didac- 
tic and  Polemic  Theology.  The  other  Professorship  was  not 
filled  at  that  time ;  but  in  the  meeting  of  Synod  at  Canons- 
burg,  in  the  fall  of  1833,  Rev.  David  Carson,  of  Blount 
county,  Tennessee,  was  chosen  to  fill  it.  He  acquiesced  in 
the  judgment  of  his  brethren,  and  moved  with  his  family  to 
Canonsburg  in  June  of  1834.  He  was  thirty-three  or  four 
years  of  age.  His  ruddy  complexion  and  robust  form,  prom- 
ised a  long  life  of  usefulness.  But  the  race  is  not  to  the 
swift,  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong.  It  was  well,  no  doubt, 
that  it  was  in  his  heart  to  build  the  house  of  the  Lord.     But 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP  DR.    ANDERSON.  333 

he  was  not  permitted  to  do  the  work.  Before  he  had  made 
an  actual  commencement  in  his  department  of  official  labor, 
he  was  removed  to  the  land  of  silence.  His  death  occurred 
about  the  20th  of  September,  1834 ;  and  the  Synod  meeting 
shortly  after  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  proceeded  to  the  elec- 
tion of  another.  Rev.  Abraham  Anderson  was  chosen ;  but 
he  could  not  say  that  he  would  take  the  place,  and  discharge 
the  duties  of  it  according  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  In  the 
hope  that  time  would  remove  his  difficulties,  the  Synod 
allowed  him  to  hold  the  call  under  consideration  till  the  next 
meeting  appointed  to  be  held  in  Canonsburg,  1835.  This 
indulgence  was  indicative  of  an  earnest  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  Synod  that  Mr.  Anderson  would  accept  the  post  to  which 
he  was  called,  and  he  considered  what  was  his  duty  in  the 
case  very  seriously,  and  with  earnest  prayer  for  Divine  direc- 
tion. In  a  letter  to  the  writer  bearing  date  November  27th, 
1834,  the  following  language  is  used  : — "  One  thing  occurred 
at  Synod  in  which  I  am  much  interested — my  election  to  the 
Professorship.  If  I  were  to  consult  my  own  comfort  only,  I 
would  decline.  But  I  consider  it  a  matter  of  weighty  con- 
cern, and  that  its  weight  would  require  me  to  make  greater 
sacrifices  than  any  call  I  ever  had  before.  The  fear  of  a  cor- 
rupt man,  or  a  man  under  corrupt  influence  filling  the  place 
and  poisoning  the  fountains  and  streams  which  water  our  vine- 
yard, makes  it  no  matter  of  indifference  to  me,  and  points 
out  my  accountability.  The  providences  connected  with  the 
case  have  been  remarkable.  While  I  was  in  the  Carolinas, 
and  preferred  almost  anything  to  my  situation  there,  and  had 
nothing  in  these  respects  to  hinder  my  acceptance  of  the  call, 
it  was  not  made.  It  was  not  made  till  I  was  settled,  and  in 
such  circumstances,  that  I  find  it  more  difficult  than  I  ever 
did,  or  would  have  found  it  before,  to  change  my  location. 
Thus  Providence  seems  to  say,  that  I  must  wade  through 
difficulties,  in  duty  or  to  duty — that  I  must  not  come  to  my 
duties  with  ease,  or  that  it  is  not  my  duty  to  change  my  loca- 


334  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

tion  at  present.  That  it  is  through  difficulties  and  trials  I 
must  engage  in  duty,  and  perform  it,  is,  I  am  aware,  no 
strange  thing.  It  is  the  appointed  way  ;  and  if  this  were  all 
the  hinderance  it  would  be  no  argument  against  my  removal, 
but  I  suspect  some  of  my  difficulties  are  insurmountable. 
Dear  friend,  I  request  both  your  counsels  and  your  prayers. 
It  is  God  only  that  can  guide  my  judgment  and  my  heart. 
I  dread  the  influence  of  temptations  from  the  world  and  of 
carnal  views  and  affections.  Such  a  dilemma  presented,  and  to 
be  determined  under  the  influence  of  a  carnal  mind,  is  a  fear- 
ful condition." 

The  great  impediment  was  the  very  delicate  health  of  Mrs. 
Anderson,  which  not  changing  for  the  better  in  the  course  of 
the  time  given  for  consideration,  Mr.  Anderson  finally  declined 
the' office  to  which  he  had  been  appointed.  Informed  of  his 
decision,  the  Synod  of  1835  proceeded  to  the  election  of 
another,  and  fixed  on  the  Rev.  Thomas  Beveridge,  of  Phila- 
delphia, now  Dr.  Beveridge,  who  accepted  the  appointment, 
and  is  still  serving  the  church  in  that  office  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  Synod  and  students  of  theology. 

The  chair  of  Didactic  Theology  being  vacant  by  the  death 
of  Dr.  Martin,  the  Synod  of  1847,  sitting  in  Allegheny,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  choice  of  an  incumbent.  Mr.  Anderson  was 
chosen,  and  without  hesitation  accepted  the  office.  No  doubt 
he  could  have  said  as  before,  Were  I  to  consult  my  oicn  com- 
fort only,  I  would  decline.  But  I  consider  this  call  a  matter 
of  weighty  concern,  and  that  its  great  weight  requires  me  to 
make  greater  sacrifices  than  any  call  I  ever  had  before.  (See 
Letter  above.)  The  sacrifices  involved  in  the  undertaking 
were  by  no  means  trifling.  He  had  to  abandon  a  very  com- 
modious settlement  at  a  considerable  pecuniary  loss.  He  had 
to  forsake  the  society  of  his  affectionate  parishioners,  of  his 
relations  in  New  York,  and  of  his  own  family,  in  some  mea- 
sure. He  had  to  abandon  that  leisure  and  quietude  which 
men  at  his  stage  of  life  (not  far  from  sixty)  generally  prize, 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP  DR.   ANDERSON.  335 

and  to  gird  himself  for  labors  in  a  new  field, — labors  that  are 
difficult  in  their  nature,  and  made  more  difficult  as  youthful 
candidates  for  the  ministry  are  apt  to  be  fastidious  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  their  spiritual  food  is  presented.  Mr.  Ander- 
son, without  doubt,  counted  the  cost  before  he  undertook  the 
work,  for  such  was  his  habit ;  and  hence  he  did  not  afterwards 
draw  back  nor  murmur  at  finding  difficulties  which  he  had 
not  anticipated. 

He  repaired  to  Canonsburg  about  the  1st  of  November,  the 
commencement  of  the  theological  session,  leaving  his  wife, 
whose  health  was  more  uniform  than  in  1834,  and  his  only 
child,  a  daughter  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age,  with  Mrs. 
Law,  his  wife's  mother.  He  took  boarding  with  Mr.  Wm, 
M'Lelland,  one  of  the  companions  and  friends  of  his  youth, 
and  labored  throughout  the  winter  in  his  appropriate  office, 
and  in  preaching  the  word  to  the  congregation  of  Chartiers 
as  a  helper  of  Dr.  Ramsey,  now  in  debility  through  age. 
The  writer  attended  the  meeting  of  the  Board  at  the  close  of 
the  session,  and  spent  some  time  with  Mr.  Anderson  in  his 
private  study.  He  did  not  complain  of  his  labors,  nor  of 
solicitude  about  his  family,  from  which  he  was  so  distant,  but 
seemed  care-worn  and  heavy, — not  so  cheerful  as  in  the  sunny 
South,  and  I  was  therefore  led  to  conclude  that  he  felt  his 
labors  and  privations,  though  he  would  not  permit  his  lips  to 
complain.  The  session  closing  with  the  month  of  March, 
Mr.  Anderson  returned  to  his  family  in  New  York.  About 
this  time  the  honorary  degree  of  D.  D.  was  conferred  upon 
him  by  the  Faculty  and  Board  of  Franklin  College,  in  the 
State  of  Ohio. 

Having  in  the  course  of  the  summer  made  some  disposition 
of  his  property  in  New  York,  he  returned  with  his  family  to 
Canonsburg  in  the  month  of  October  ;  and  during  the  winter 
that  followed  he  prosecuted  his  labors  in  the  Seminary  and 
in  the  pulpit,  preaching  about  half  the  time  for  Dr.  Ramsey, 


336  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

and  on  Sabbath  nights  alternately  with  his  colleague  in  the 
hall  of  the  Seminary. 

Having  procured  an  unimproved  lot  near  the  Seminary,  he 
took  upon  himself  the  cares  and  anxieties  of  building  in  the 
summer  of  1849.  There  was  much  to  be  done,  and  he  so 
managed  that  all  was  done  in  a  short  time,  and  in  good  style. 
The  result  of  the  undertaking  was  a  most  commodious,  habita- 
tion, with  its  proper  appurtenances.  As  we  were  returning 
from  the  meeting  of  Synod  in  Xenia,  1851,  in  a  private  and 
confidential  interview  the  Doctor  told  me  of  one  fact  in  regard 
to  his  bodily  condition,  by  which  I  was  led  to  apprehend  that 
his  earthly  tabernacle  was  breaking  down.  He  preserved, 
however,  his  usual  healthy  appearance,  and  continued  to  prose- 
cute his  work  with  unabated  energy.  In  the  fall  of  that  year 
he  took  upon  himself  an  additional  burden  of  cares  and 
labors.  A  small  congregation  on  Miller's  Run,  five  miles 
from  Canonsburg,  called  him  and  his  colleague,  Dr.  Beveridge, 
to  be  their  conjoint  pastors ;  and  Dr.  Anderson,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Dr.  Beveridge,  accepted  the  call,  and  continued  in 
the  duties  involved  till  near  the  end  of  his  course.  Dr.  An- 
derson was  in  easy,  and  even  affluent  circumstances.  He  was 
not  impelled  to  this  undertaking  by  the  necessities  of  his 
family,  nor  by  the  love  of  filthy  lucre,  but  by  a  sense  of  duty 
and  the  delight  he  experienced  in  using  his  gifts  for  the  ben- 
efit of  others.  He  was  well  apprized  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
lay  out  his  talents,  and  not  bury  them  •  and  he  delighted  in 
preaching  the  word  to  an  humble,  attentive  people,  and  in 
circulating  among  such  a  people  and  instructing  them  around 
their  own  hearths. 

The  writer  remembers  distinctly  of  his  saying  in  a  private 
interview,  not  long  after  the  acceptance  of  that  call — "  /  do 
like  to  preach."  His  sense  of  duty,  and  the  pleasure  he  found 
in  pastoral  duties  were,  then,  the  principal  motives  of  that 
undertaking.     It  is  probable,  however,  that  he  took  into  view 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OP   DR.    ANDERSON.  837 

the  necessity  of  exercise  in  the  open  air,  and  thought  that 
the  exercise  demanded  by  duty  in  the  congregation  would 
redound  to  his  advantage. 

Not  long  after  Professors  Anderson  and  Beveridge  had 
taken  upon  them  the  pastoral  care  of  Miller's  Run,  the  Asso- 
ciate Synod  reduced  the  theological  course,  which  had  been 
spread  over  four  years,  to  three  years  of  two  sessions  each, 
five  months  in  the  winter,  as  before,  and  three  in  the  summer. 
This  arrangement  left  to  the  Professors  but  little  time  for 
relaxation.  But  still  Dr.  Anderson  went  on  in  his  course, 
and  presented  no  visible  signs  of  wearing  out  till  August, 
1854,  when  he  was  taken  suddenly  with  the  usual  symptoms 
of  gravel,  and  suffered  exceedingly  for  twelve  or  fifteen  days. 
His  complaint  was  never  removed  altogether ;  but  being  par- 
tially relieved,  he  returned,  after  three  or  four  weeks'  confine- 
ment, to  the  duties  of  his  calling.  In  October  he  maintained 
his  erect  attitude  of  body  and  his  usual  complexion.  In  Jan- 
uary there  was  no  visible  change,  except  a  certain  snowy 
whiteness  of  his  forehead  and  temples,  in  which,  as  the  writer 
imagined,  the  sentence  of  death  was  legible.  In  a  private 
interview  at  the  time  just  mentioned,  he  spoke  without  reserve 
of  his  bodily  condition,  stating  that  he  suffered  daily,  and 
,  that  his  sufferings  were  at  times  excruciating, — that  the  cause 
was  not  stone,  but  some  other  acrid  humor  thrown  upon  the 
tender  organs.  This  judgment  respecting  the  nature  of  his 
ailment  was  correct.  It  was  at  length  fully  ascertained  that 
the  immediate^  cause  of  his  sufferings  and  death  was  chronic 
cystitis,  attended  with  irritation  and  stricture  of  the  urethra. 
How,  under  these  painful  circumstances,  he  preserved  his 
composure  of  mind  and  energy  of  spirit,  and  went  on  with 
his  duties  in  the  Seminary,  I  cannot  show  more  distinctly 
than  in  the  language  of  Dr.  Beveridge,  who  was  with  him 
daily.  "  During  the  last  winter  of  his  life,"  says  the  Doctor, 
in  a  letter  lately  received,  "  he  suffered  exceedingly  from  the 
disease  which  at  last  terminated  his  days;  but  he  persevered 
29 


338  HISTORY   OP   JEFEERSON    COLLEGE 

m  meeting  with  the  students  till  the  close  of  the  session. 
Their  last  meeting  with  him  was  in  his  own  house ;  and  their 
general  impression  at  the  time  was,  that  it  would  be  the  last. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  winter,  he  limited  himself  in  these 
meetings  to  an  hour.  Frequently,  however,  some  of  the  stu- 
dents, who  were  not  aware  of  the  nature  of  his  disease,  would 
detain  him  after  he  had  finished  his  lecture  to  obtain  his 
instructions  on  some  subject  which  was  engaging  their  atten- 
tion ;  and  such  was  his  kindness  and  self -denial,  that  he  often 
allowed  himself  to  be  detained  so  long  that  when  he  returned 
to  his  house  he  would  continue  for  some  time  in  an  agony." 
That  in  such  circumstances  he  not  only  attempted  his  daily 
duties,  but  persevered  and  went  through  them,  is  a  sufficient 
proof  that  he  was  possessed  of  a  strong  will  and  an  indomi- 
table spirit.  As  to  his  method  of  teaching  theology  during 
his  last  and  other  sessions,  Dr.  Beveridge  states  in  the  same 
letter  : — "  That  taking  Mark's  Medulla  for  the  text-book, 
(as  his  predecessors  bad  done,)  he  embodied  in  a  series  of 
questions  whatever  he  .egarded  as  valuable  in  the  Compend, 
adding  when  there  seemed  to  be  occasion  for  it,  and  correcting 
what  he  disapproved.  The  written  questions  and  their 
answers  did  not,  however,  comprise  all  his  instructions.  As 
occasions  appeared  to  require,  he  enlarged  on  different  sub- 
'ects.  This  he  did  especially  when  he  found  any  point  not 
thoroughly  comprehended  by  the  students,  or  when  a  question 
was  raised  by  any  of  them  respecting  some  point  of  doctrine  ; 
and  these  unpremeditated  remarks  were  considered  by  the 
students  as  the  most  valuable  of  his  instructions.  His  lec- 
tures were  greatly  esteemed  by  the  young  gentlemen  for  whose 
use  they  were  prepared ;  and  having  been  solicited  by  them 
to  give  them  to  the  public,  he  had  made  some  preparation  fox 
doing  so."  It  may  be  stated  here,  though  it  be  not  chrono- 
logically in  order,  that  the  portion  of  Dr.  Anderson's  lectures 
which  health  and  life  did  not  permit  him  to  review  and  correct 
for  the  press,  has  been  re-written  by  the  Rev.  T.  II  Beveridge, 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP  DR.    ANDERSON.  339 

of  Philadelphia,  and  the  work  is  published.  The  Christian 
community  will  therefore  have  the  opportunity  of  judging  of 
Dr.  Anderson's  ability  and  soundness  as  a  theologian,  and  of 
'lis  aptness  to  teach.  As  a  copy  of  the  work  has  not  yet- 
£ome  into  the  writer's  hands,  he  cannot  offer  his  opinion  in 
regard  to  its  merits.  But  a  more  competent  judge  speaks  in 
terms  of  high  commendation.  "  The  work,"  says  Dr.  Cooper, 
■editor  of  the  Repository,  li  while  it  cannot  fail  to  be  a  very 
valuable  guide  to  theological  students,  will  prove  to  them,  and 
all  others  who  may  make  use  of  it,  a  rich  fund  of  valuable 
and  varied  information  on  the  doctrines  of  our  holy  religion. 
Let  no  one  decline  purchasing  the  work  from  the  fear  that  he 
may  not  be  able  to  understand  it,  or  that  it  is  not  adapted  to 
the  general  reader.  On  some  accounts  it  will  be  found  pecu- 
liarly acceptable  and  useful  to  private  members  of  the  church. 
The  interrogatory  form  which  characterizes  these  lectures,  is 
well  calculated  to  arrest  attention,  and  bring  out  the  point 
clearly  and  distinctly  before  the  mind.  We  feel  rejoiced  that 
it  has  been  presented  to  the  public,  as  we  think  it,  on  the 
whole,  admirably  calculated  to  diffuse  throughout  the  church 
sound  Scriptural  principles,  and  to  establish  our  people,  and 
all  who  may  read  it,  in  the  faith  of  our  holy  profession." — 
Rep.  vol.  sv.,  p.  442. 

From  this  digression  we  return.  It  was  faintly  hoped  at 
the  close  of  the  session,  (March,  1855,)  that  being  released 
from  care  and  fatigue,  Dr.  Anderson  would  recover  from  his 
weakness,  and  see  some  years  of  comfort  and  usefulness. 
But  his  sufferings  were  not  abated ;  and  under  the  genial 
warmth  of  the  dawning  summer,  his  symptoms  became  more 
.aggravated.  Having  taught  others  how  to  live  and  how  to 
die,  he  was  not  amazed  with  horror,  nor  overwhelmed  with 
grief, — he  preserved  his  usual  serenity  of  countenance  and 
equanimity  of  mind.  He  manifested,  however,  a  lively  con- 
cern about  eternal  things.  After  hearing  his  own  statement 
about   his  bodily  condition  in  the  month   of  January,  the 


340  HISTORY   OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

writer  took  the  liberty  of  making  some  remarks  about  the 
grounds  of  faith  and  its  happy  influence  in  tranquillizing  the 
mind  and  heart  in  trying  times  —  observing,  among  other 
things,  that  if  we  had  the  lively,  confiding  faith  of  Paul,  we 
would  say  as  he  did — "  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed,  and 
that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  to  him ; 
I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith ;  henceforth 
there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,"  &c.  There 
was  no  thought  of  being  useful  to  the  Doctor,  except  in  the 
way  of  stirring  up  his  pure  mind  by  putting  him  in  re- 
membrance ;  yet  he  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  conversation, 
and  spoke  of  it  in  the  month  of  March,  regretting  that  it  had 

been  interrupted  by  the  coming  of ,  a  much  esteemed 

friend,  whom  he  said  he  had  never  been  sorry  to  see  coming 
into  his  house  except  in  that  instance. 

The  following  statements  respecting  the  exercise  of  Dr. 
Anderson  in  preparation  for  his  approaching  dissolution,  are 
derived  from  the  letter  of  Dr.  Beveridge,  extracts  from  which 
have  been  already  given  :  —  "  About  four  weeks  before  his 
death,  when  I  rose  to  leave  him  he  requested  me  to  sit  down, 
that  we  might  have  some  conversation  in  respect  to  spiritual 
things,  and  particularly  in  reference  to  death.  He  stated,  in 
substance,  that  he  hoped  somewhat  for  recovery,  but  thought 
his  case  doubtful.  Among  other  things  which  he  mentioned 
as  yielding  him  satisfaction  as  an  evidence  of  the  reality  of 
grace,  was  perseverance  for  a  long  time  in  the  way  of 
righteousness.  The  righteous  shall  hold  on  his  way.  I  re- 
collect, also,  that  he  expressed  himself  much  pleased  with 
some  remarks  I  made  to  him  about  the  determination  of  the 
will  to  what  is  right,  even  when  there  may  be  much  disturb- 
ance of  the  affections,  as  when  a  man  consents  to  the  amputa- 
tion of  a  limb,  while  his  whole  frame  shudders  at  the  thought 
of  parting  with  it;  his  will  is  to  lose  the  limb,  but  his 
feelings  are  all  opposed  to  his  will ;  so  in  crucifying  the 
flesh,  the  will  is  to  give  up  right  hands  and  right  eyes  —  to 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP  DR.    ANDERSON.  341 

give  up  all  for  Christ,  but  the  affections  are  often  strongly 
drawn  in  a  contrary  direction." 

We  come  to  the  closing  scene,  the  account  of  which  is 
taken  chiefly  from  a  letter  of  Dr.  Beveridge  to  his  son,  Rev. 
Thomas  H.  BeVeridge,  of  Philadelphia,  dated  the  8th  of 
May,  1855  :— 

"  Our  dear  brother,  Dr.  Anderson,  is  still  living,  but  no 
one  entertains  the  least  hope  of  his  recovery.  On  the  last 
Sabbath  of  April,  nine  days  ago,  he  was  seized  with  a  chill : 
he  was  somewhat  better  on  Monday.  He  continued,  how- 
ever, to  suffer  a  good  deal  on  Tuesday  and  Wednesday.  On 
Thursday  morning  I  was  sent  for ;  he  was  supposed  to  be 
dying.  He  recovered  somewhat  during  the  day.  I  called  as 
soon  as  I  returned  from  Miller's  Run,  (where  I  had  preached,) 
and  found  him  sinking.  On  Tuesday  I  was  again  sent  for, 
about  noon,  when  he  was  once  more  thought  to  be  dying. 
Stayed  with  him  that  evening  and  night>  He  was  sensible, 
though  not  able  to  do  much  more  than  answer  questions. 
On  Friday,  or  perhaps  Thursday,  I  asked  him  if  he  knew 
that  he  was  dying.  He  replied  that  he  did.  I  asked  him 
if  he  found  himself  prepared  to  leave  the  world.  His  reply 
was  that  he  trusted  that  he  was  ready.  About  2  o'clock  of 
Saturday  morning,  Dr.  M'Elwee  arrived.  Dr.  Anderson  had 
apparently  been  inattentive  to  any  thing  for  some  time ;  but 
as  his  brother  M'Elwee  approached  the  bed,  and  asked  if  he 
knew  him,  Dr.  Anderson  raised  himself  up  with  a  sudden 
start,  calling  out  as  he  did  so,  'M'Elwee,  M'Elwee,  M'El- 
wee !'  he  threw  his  arms  around  him,  and  drew  him  down  to 
his  breast,  where  he  held  him  till  we  were  obliged  to  remove 
his  hands,  to  give  Dr.  M'Elwee  his  liberty."  He  seemed 
exceedingly  gratified,  and  was  induced  to  take  some  water, 
by  which  the  clamminess  of  his  mouth  was  removed,  and  he 
was  able  for  some  time  to  speak  more  distinctly.  About  10 
o'clock,  Saturday  afternoon,  he  fell  into  an  agony  of  pain. 
His  countenance  became  distorted,  he  tossed  his  head  rapidly 
29* 


342  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

from  one  side  to  the  other,  and  flung  his  arms  violently  in 
every  direction,  crying  out  as  he  did  so,  "  Oh,  me  !  Oh,  me  ! 
What  shall  I  do  ?  What  shall  I  do  ?  I  want  strength  —  I 
want  strength  —  I  have  no  strength  !"  The  writer  presented 
himself  before  his  face,  and  repeated  the  text,  "  My  grace 
is  sufficient  for  thee,  for  my  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weak- 
ness." The  Doctor  looked  up  with  a  steady,  pleasant  eye, 
and  repeated  the  latter  part  of  the  text,  u  My  strength  is 
made  perfect  in  weakness."  "Yes,"  said  the  writer,  "trust 
in  him,  and  you  will  find  it  so."  He  made  no  answer,  but 
became  calm,  and  lay  quietly  till  about  2  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, when  the  writer,  having  the  Lord's  Supper  on  hand, 
was  obliged  to  leave.  "  On  Saturday  night,"  continues  Dr. 
Beveridge,  "  his  brother  William  came  to  see  him,  and  he 
manifested  a  like  gratification,  and  in  the  same  way,  when  he 
recognised  him.  He  appeared  also  gratified  to  find  Dr. 
Hanna  and  other  friends  around  him.  I  stayed  with  him  all 
day  on  Saturday,  leaving  Dr.  Hanna  to  preach  and  attend  to 
the  other  services  of  the  day  at  Miller's  Run.     On  Sabbath 

1  was  obliged  to  leave  him,  and  on  Monday  also  I  was  at 
Miller's  Run.  During  all  this  time,  and  indeed  from  Thurs- 
day till  the  present  time,  his  sufferings  have  been  extreme 
beyond  any  I  have  ever  before  witnessed,  in  intensity  and 
duration.  They  have  been  such  as  almost  to  frighten  one  in 
relation  to  the  last  conflict.  I  hope,  however,  it  will  not  last 
much  longer.  He  has  swallowed  nothing  for  several  days, 
and  cannot  even  bear  to  have  his  parched  lips  wet  with 
water. 

"P.   S.  — 12   o'clock.     Dr.    Anderson   breathed   his   last 
about  half  after  10  o'clock,  and  is  to  be  buried  to-morrow  at 

2  o'clock.     He  was  sixty-six  years  of  age  last  December." 
He  was  accordingly  interred,  on  the  Oth  of  May,  in  the 

grave-yard  of  the  Associate  congregation  of  Chartiers,  wherein 
his  parents  and  some  other  relations  had  been  previously  bid. 
The  company  that  followed  his  body  to  its  long  home  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OP   DR.    ANDERSON.  343 

very  large;  and  that  home,  through  the  affection  of  his 
family,  has  been  marked  by  the  erection  of  a  rich  but  modest 
monument  of  marble.  On  the  front  of  the  shaft  is  "Ander- 
son," the  family  name ;  on  the  south  side  of  the  basis  is  a 
simple  inscription,  which  announces  the  time  of  his  birth, 
and  the  time  of  his  death ;  and  on  the  north  side  is  a  text  of 
Scripture  expressive  of  the  hope  which  animated  Dr.  Ander- 
son while  living,  and  comforts  the  hearts  of  surviving  friends 
in  regard  to  his  death.  The  text  is  that  in  Rev.  xiv :  13 — ■ 
"  Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth ; 
yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors ; 
and  their  works  do  follow  them." 

Dr.  Anderson's  exterior  was  large,  massive,  and  comely ; 
and  though  large  bodies  and  little  souls  are  often  conjoined, 
in  this  case  the  glory  within  was  equal  or  superior  to  the 
expectations  inspired  by  the  outward  form.  He  was  able  to 
accomplish  much  in  a  little  time.  Though  twenty-four  years 
of  age  when  he  commenced  his  academical  studies,  yet  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years  he  was  equal  and  superior  to  many 
others  who  had  been  prosecuting  those  studies  from  their 
childhood.  While  others  studied  divinity,  he  studied  divinity 
and  medicine,  and  performed  all  the  tedious  duties  of  Profes- 
sor of  Languages  in  Jefferson  College.  This  mental  activity, 
and  the  fruit  of  it,  much  done  in  a  little  time,  was  visible  in 
all  the  different  stages  of  his  career.  What  time  he  usually 
employed  in  preparing  for  the  Sabbath  I  know  not ;  but  if 
an  emergency  required  it,  he  could  collect  and  arrange  the 
materials  of  a  sermon  in  a  very  short  time.  He  was  not  so 
remarkable,  however,  for  the  activity  of  his  mental  operations, 
as  for  the  compass  and  extent  of  his  vision.  As  a  man  of 
the  smallest  stature,  standing  near  an  ant-hill,  can  survey  it 
on  all  sides  at  one  and  the  same  time,  so  he  seemed  to  tower 
above  the  subject  which  he  had  occasion  to  handle,  and  to 
view  all  its  different  sides  at  once,  with  all  the  objections 
which   might  be  brought  against   the   view  which  he  main- 


344         •  HISTORY    OV   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

tained.  This  mounting  above  his  subject  was  discernible  in 
all  his  public  discourses,  and  frequently  in  his  conversation. 
An  elderly  man  in  the  South,  connected  with  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Old  School,  heard  l)r  Anderson  occasionally, 
and  compared  him  to  a  great  bar-shear,  which  makes  a  wide 
furrow  and  buries  all  the  weeds  out  of  sight. 

To  a  strong,  well-balanced  mind,  were  added,  in  the  case 
of  Dr.  Anderson,  a  diligent  spirit,  and  the  art  of  gathering 
up  fragments  of  time  and  bits  of  opportunity,  and  turning 
them  to  some  good  account.  In  camp  he  found  time  to  write 
a  little  book,  though  he  had  not  turned  his  attention  to 
literary  studies,  and  wanted  all  the  common  conveniences  for 
writing.  In  after  life  his  opportunities  were  better,  and  he 
improved  them  with  equal  diligence.  It  does  not  appear 
that  he  kept  a  diary ;  but  he  kept  a  note-book,  in  which  he 
recorded,  with  some  remarks,  any  text  with  which  his  mind 
was  impressed  in  reading;  and  when  his  reflections  did  not 
lead  him  to  fix  on  some  particular  subject  for  the  Sabbath, 
he  had  recourse  to  this  storehouse  for  assistance. 

To  an  industrious  spirit  was  added  the  love  of  order.  His 
books  and  papers  were  kept  in  their  proper  places.  The  parts 
of  his  apparel  were  properly  disposed ;  and  his  expenditures 
were  not  suffered  to  flow  out  at  random.  He  noted  in  a 
little  book  the  incomes  and  outlayings  of  a  year.  At  the 
end  of  the  year  he  marked  the  paper,  and  laid  it  by,  and 
began  anew.  The  love  of  order  and  convenience  was,  in 
short,  conspicuous  in  every  thing  about  him;  in  his  garden, 
yard,  and  stable,  as  well  as  in  his  dwelling. 

The  result  of  his  well-directed  industry  was  riches  in 
knowledge  :  his  binary  was,  indeed,  not  very  large;  but 
being  of  an  observing,  penetrating  mind,  and  persevering 
spirit,  what  he  studied  was  well  studied.  He  could  read  a 
Latin  system  of  divinity  almost  as  freely  as  common  Euglish. 
He  was  so  familiar  with  the  Greek  of  the  New  Testament, 
that  in  family  worship,  in  his  own  house,  he  read  the  chapter 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   DR.    ANDERSON.  345 

directly  from  the  original  text.  He  had  a  good  acquaintance 
with  the  Hebrew  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  with  ancient  and 
modern  history,  with  the  principles  of  our  republican  govern- 
ment and  of  the  common  law.  He  was  a  good  physician  in 
all  ordinary  cases,  and  not  ignorant  of  chemistry,  nor  of 
agriculture  or  architecture.  He  was  well  acquainted  with 
human  nature  ;  and  knew  very  generally,  before  the  trial  of 
a  particular  measure,  whether  it  would  be  borne  or  rejected 
with  indignation.  Men  of  vigorous  powers  and  great  learning 
are  sometimes  destitute  of  common  sense,  but  it  was  never 
supposed  by  any  of  his  acquaintances  that  Dr.  Anderson  was 
deficient  in  that  respect.  Common  sense  and  prudence  were 
conspicuous  in  all  that  he  said  and  did. 

Great  abilities  and  rich  acquirements  are  often  attended 
with  a  highly  supercilious  spirit,  that  unfits  the  possessor  for 
usefulness  in  the  world.  But  Dr.  Anderson  was  humble  and 
patient.  He  thought  it  no  degradation  to  leave  his  seat  in 
college,  and  ride  through  the  country  preaching  the  gospel 
to  the  poor  and  ignorant;  and  when  settled  in  a  pastoral 
charge,  he  was  not  above  preaching  from  house  to  house,  or 
visiting  the  poor  in  their  affliction.  A  man  whose  gifts  are 
excellent,  may  be  in  a  great  measure  useless  through  lack 
of  the  principles  that  should  guide  him  in  the  exercise  of  his 
gifts,  and  excite  him  to  use  them  for  the  benefit  of  others. 
He  may  be  without  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  cause 
of  righteousness,  and  without  love  for  his  fellow-creatures. 
But  Dr.  Anderson  was  not  in  this  unhappy  case.  He  was 
very  zealous  for  the  Lord  God  of  hosts,  and  towards  men  he 
was  full  of  kindness.  When,  in  the  commencement  of  my 
ministry,  I  told  him  of  any  difficulty,  or  discouragement,  or 
cause  of  perplexity,  however  trifling  the  thing  was,  he  never 
made  light  of  it,  but  listened  with  fixed  attention ;  and  when 
he  had  comprehended  the  case,  he  applied  himself  to  the 
labor  of  helping  me  with  as  much  earnestness  as  if  I  had 
been  his  own  son.     His  tenderness  was  very  visible  in  his 


346  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

intercourse  with  Mrs.  Anderson  and  his  daughter;  and  Dr. 
Beveridgc,  his  colleague  in  the  Seminary,  witnesses  that 
towards  the  students  he  showed  all  the  kindness  of  a  fathe? 
particularly  when  any  of  them  were  under  affliction.  A- 
first  sight  his  lofty  head  and  stern  countenance  led  me  to 
stispeet  that  he  was  without  tender  feelings;  and  that  though 
I  might  esteem,  I  could  not  love  him.  But  first  impressions 
are  often  fallacious.  "  Very  pleasant  hast  thou  been  unto 
me,  my  brother.  Thy  love  to  me  was  wonderful,  passing  the 
love  of  women."  Many  good  men  will  wound  the  feelings 
of  a  friend  in  pursuit  of  a  jest  and  a  laugh.  But  Dr.  Ander- 
son's tenderness  forbade  him  to  do  so. 

Some,  who  are  not  vicious,  will  through  weakness  or  in- 
eonsiderateness,  reveal  what  has  been  communicated  to  them 
in  the  confidence  of  friendship;  and  those  who  will  maki 
trouble  for  their  friends  intentionally,  or  inadvertently,  ai 
so  many  in  all  the  walks  of  life,  that  the  nryal  preacher 
inquires  after  a  faithful  man,  and  hints  that  it  is  hard  to  find 
such  a  man.  "  A  faithful  man,  who  can  find  ?"  Dr.  Ander- 
son obtained  mercy  to  be  faithful  in  all  his  relations.  He 
was  an  intelligent,  constant  friend,  and  wise  counselor ;  and 
the  writer  has  often  felt  thankful  that  being  such,  Divine 
Providence  had  brought  us  into  contact  and  fellowship. 

The  good  qualities  already  noticed,  were  enhanced  by 
honesty  and  sincerity.  Too  many  magnify  whatever  they 
have  occasion  to  speak  of,  but  his  communications  were  yea, 
yea,  nay,  nay ;  and  whether  he  commended  or  faulted,  his 
words  were  the  just  exponents  of  his  thoughts.  If  he  had 
offered  a  measure  to  the  Presbytery  or  Synod,  and  a  brother 
offered  something  better,  he  would  abandon  his  own  measure 
and  maintain  the  substitute.  He  did  nothing  through  strife 
or  vainglory.  He  never  spoke  that  others  might  hear  how 
well  he  could  speak,  nor  continued  to  harangue  and  reason 
for  the  sake  of  victory.  He  was,  no  doubt,  pleased  to  possess 
the  esteem   of  his  fellow-men,  but  direct  attempts  to  win 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF   DR.    ANDERSON.  347 

popular  favor,  his  honesty  and  sense  of  dignity  would  not 
allow  -him  to  make.  He  was  free  from  that  ambition  which 
is  ever  striving  to  shine  with  such  lustre  as  to  throw  all 
others  into  the  shade,  and  from  that  bitterness  of  soul  which 
gives  birth  to  envy.  If  a  brother  in  the  ministry  succeeded 
in  riveting  the  attention  of  the  people  more  closely  than  he 
had  done  himself,  Dr.  Anderson  was  not  made  restless  and 
uneasy,  nor  stirred  up  to  speak  disparagingly  of  his  brother, 
but  rather  to  praise  and  thank  the  Most  High  for  bestowing 
such  gifts  on  men.  To  this  nobleness  of  spirit,  Dr.  Beveridge, 
his  colleague  in  the  Seminary  and  in  the  pastorate  of  Miller's 
Run,  bears  witness,  stating  in  a  letter  lately  received,  that 
some  of  the  people  of  Miller's  Run  preferred  Dr.  Anderson, 
and  some  himself — that  Dr.  Anderson  noticed  their  prefer- 
ences, and  spoke  of  them  in  private  interviews  with  as  much 
indifference  as  if  he  had  been  no  way  interested. 

Weight  was  given  to  Dr.  Anderson's  instructions,  public 
and  private,  by  his  habitual  gravity.  He  was  indeed  affable 
and  cheerful,  and  could  laugh  heartily  when  there  was  a  just 
occasion.  But  by  nature  or  grace,  or  both  combined,  he  was 
estranged  from  levity.  His  speech  was  very  generally 
seasoned  with  salt,  and  good  to  the  use  of  edifying.  I  recol- 
lect but  one  laughable  story  of  his  telling,  and  that  bore  some- 
what against  himself. 

He  was  lodging  with  a  worthy  pair  of  elderly  Scotch  people 
in  Sterling  congregation,  Iredell  county,  North  Carolina,  on 
the  night  before  the  sacramental  fast.  He  spoke  during  the 
evening  of  the  sad  declension  of  religion,  and  as  an  instance 
noticed  the  utter  disregard  of  fast  days  by  many  ;  and  the 
general  neglect  of  every  thing  like  fasting,  by  many  who 
profess  to  sanctify  the  day.  It  did  not  occur  to  him  to  state, 
as  was  his  belief,  that  on  a  day  of  fasting,  worshipers  should 
not  indulge  in  table  comforts  as  on  other  days,  but  take 
merely  a  little  of  something  plain  and  simple,  for  necessary 
sustenance.     The  morning  having  come,  he  walked  out  to  a 


848  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

grove,  and  spent  an  hour  or  more  in  prayer  and  study.  He 
returned,  expecting  to  be  invited  to  the  breakfast  table,  but 
was  asked  to  lead  in  worship.  Worship  being  over,  he  sat 
for  some  time  and  conversed  with  the  head  of  the  family. 
He  went  to  the  grove  again,  tarried  a  good  while,  and  re- 
turned, confidently  expecting  that  a  frugal  repast  was  in 
readiness  for  him.  But  instead  of  that  the  horses  were 
saddled  for  going  to  the  church,  and  the  old  lady  had  adjusted 
her  bonnet  and  shawl.  As  soon  as  he  entered  the  house,  she 
accosted  him  very  kindly,  saying — "  Now,  Mr.  Anderson,  it 
is  too  much  to  go  all  day  without  eating  any  thing  at  all : 
having  to  preach  two  sermons,  you  will  faint  before  you  arc 
through  with  them.  Will  you  not  have  a  little  of  some- 
thing V  He  replied — "  To  be  sure  I  will,  if  I  can  get  it." 
So  she  laid  off  her  bonnet,  and  in  a  few  moments  invited  him 
to  a  cold  repast.  While  relating  this  bit  of  his  experience, 
the  Doctor  laughed  very  heartily.  It  was  not,  however,  a 
vain  story.  All  may  easily  learn  from  it  that  the  man  of 
God  should  rightly  divide  the  word  of  truth,  showing  what 
is  right  and  proper,  as  well  as  that  which  is  reprehensible 
and  to  be  avoided. 

That  persons  who  have  not  had  the  happiness  of  seeing  Dr. 
Anderson  in  the  pulpit  may  have  some  idea  of  him  as  a 
preacher,  it  is  necessary  to  state  that  though  he  was  large 
and  strong,  his  bodily  organization  was  such  that  he  could 
only  speak  in  a  conversational  tone.  His  pronunciation  being 
distinct,  he  was  nevertheless  heard  with  ease  in  a  large 
assembly.  It  must  be  stated  further,  that  he  had  one  mental 
peculiarity  :  while  his  memory  was  grasping  and  retentive 
of  ideas,  he  had  less  ability  than  the  generality  of  men  to 
remember  and  repeat  sentences.  At  the  commencement  of 
his  ministry  he  wrote  his  sermons  at  full  length,  as  young 
ministers  of  the  Associate  Church  generally  do ;  but  it  took 
him  a  whole  week  to  commit  a  sermon,  and  after  so  much 
labor  he  was  hampered  in  the  delivery.     He  concluded,  after 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OF   DR.    ANDERSON.  349 

a  few  trials,  that  if  he  could  not  preach  except  in  this  way, 
it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  abandon  the  ministry.  The 
plan  on  which  he  fell,  was  that  of  writing  down  the  heads 
and  particular  divisions,  with  a  few  sentences  under  each 
division  indicating  the  line  of  illustration  to  be  pursued.  In 
this  way  he  preached  with  more  ease  and  comfort,  and  in  this 
way  he  continued  to  preach.  Frequently,  indeed,  he  wrote 
his  sermon  at  full  length ;  but  in  preparing  to  preach  it,  he 
did  no  more  than  make  himself  familiar  with  the  line  of 
thoughts ;  and  thus,  while  the  matter  was  premeditated,  the 
language  was  extemporaneous. 

It  may  be  stated  further,  that  in  taste  and  judgment,  Dr. 
Anderson  was  opposed  to  ornate  discourses  and  rhetorical 
flourishes  in  the  sacred  desk.  He  often  quoted,  with  ap- 
probation, the  famous  lines  of  Cowper  : — 

"  What,  will  a  man  play  tricks  ?     Will  he  indulge 
A  silly,  fond  conceit  of  his  fair  form, 
And  just  proportion,  fashionable  mien, 
And  pretty  face,  in  presence  of  his  God  ? 
Or  will  he  seek  to  dazzle  me  with  tropes, 
And  play  his  brilliant  parts  before  my  eyes, 
When  I  am  hungry  for  the  bread  of  life  ? 

I  seek  divine  simplicity  in  him 

Who  handles  things  divine  ;  and  all  beside, 

Though  learned  with  labor,  and  though  much  admired 

By  curious  eyes,  and  judgments  ill  informed, 

To  me  is  odious." 

While,  therefore,  Dr.  Anderson's  preaching  was,  as  to  the 
matter,  solid  and  rich,  in  respect  of  the  language  and  style 
of  delivery,  it  was  very  plain  and  simple.  Epithets  were  not 
piled  upon  epithets,  nor  one  bright  comparison  upon  another. 
His  hearers  were  not  amused  with  graphic  descriptions  of 
persons  and  scenes,  nor  astonished  at  times  with  a  torrent 
of  diction  and  feeling.  He  was  not  flippant  nor  drawling, 
but  flowed  with  an  evenly  tenor,  as  the  clear  stream  of  a 
80 


350         HISTORY,.  OP  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE. 

prolific  fountain.  His  able  thoughts  flowing  immediately 
from  his  own  mind,  and  enforced  by  the  countenance  of 
sincerity  itself,  generally  commanded  the  attention  of  hearers, 
though  the  words  were  plain,  and  perhaps  for  that  very  reason. 
In  the  body  of  his  sermon,  what  he  ever  aimed  at  was  to 
manifest  some  point  of  truth,  or  to  refute  some  error,  and  his 
arguments  were  plain  and  cogent.  In  the  conclusion  he 
appealed  to  the  consciences  of  his  hearers,  and  appealed  con- 
science itself  to  the  tribunal  of  the  great  Judge ;  'and  these 
appeals  were  always  solemn,  and  often  very  impressive. 

His  many  excellencies  were  more  conspicuous  on  the  floor 
of  Synod  than  in  the  pulpit.  In  a  time  of  a  heat  and  excite- 
ment, his  calm,  dignified  mien,  and  gentle  voice,  were  as  oil 
on  the  troubled  waters.  When  darkness  brooded  over  the 
Assembly,  many  not  able  to  see  the  point  at  issue,  his  cool, 
judge-like  statement  of  the  matter,  and  plain  arguments  in 
behalf  of  the  truth,  were  often  as  a  bright  light  kindled  up 
in  a  dark  place.  He  was  eminently  fitted  for  the  chair  of 
Didactic  and  Polemic  Theology.  His  great  intellectual  ability 
and  solid  learning,  his  dignity  of  appearance,  and  constant 
propriety  of  conduct,  his  condescending  kindness  and  patience, 
made  him  all  that  could  be  desired  in  that  important  post. 

It  need  scarcely  be  added  that  he  was  a  man  of  piety ;  for 
what  is  Christian  piety  but  the  harmonious  meeting  of  those 
fruits  of  righteousness  which  we  have  been  contemplating  ? 
Of  his  sincere  piety  there  are  many  other  evidences  besides 
that  evidence  which  he  mentioned  himself  to  Dr.  Beveridge 
as  one  that  afforded  him  some  consolation.  Only  two  of  the 
many  shall  be  specified.  He  loved  the  truth  of  the  gospel, 
and  stood  by  it  in  the  face  of  opposition  and  reproach ;  and 
he  loved  the  word  of  truth — the  Holy  Scriptures.  "When  the 
writer  had  accepted  of  a  pastoral  charge  in  the  Presbytery  of 
the  Carolinas,  though  our  dwelling-places  were  thirty  miles 
apart,  he  proposed  that  we  should  meet  once  a  month  for 
reading  a  portion  of  Scripture,  and  offering  such  remarks  as 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH   OF   DR.    ANDERSON.  351 

might  occur  to  us,  or  we  should  be  able  to  collect ;  and  it 
appears  that  he  bound  himself  to  read  so  much  of  the  word 
daily  in  private  as  would  serve  to  take  him  quite  through  in 
the  coiirse  of  the  year.  His  great  sufferings  in  the  close  of 
his  life  are  no  sign  or  proof  that  he  was  not  right  in  heart 
with  God.  Christ  came  to  his  beloved  disciples  in  a  storm, 
and  they  were  exceedingly  distressed ;  and  we  are  informed 
in  the  word  of  truth  that  grace  is  given  to  every  one  to  profit 
withal ;  that  is,  to  be  exercised  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
benefit  of  others  ;  and  how  could  the  excellent  graces,  faith, 
courage,  and  patience,  be  exercised  and  made  manifest  with- 
out some  very  sharp  trials  ?  Mr.  Boston  says  : — "  It  is  very 
rare,  I  suppose,  that  any  of  God's  children  have  something 
more  than  ordinary  about  them  to  their  advantage,  but  they 
get  something  more  than  ordinary  to  try  them.  Of  all  the 
patriarchs  there  was  not  one  that  had  more  divine  manifesta- 
tions, or  so  many  as  Jacob,  nor  so  many  and  great  afflictions 
either.  Of  all  the  sons  of  Jacob  there  was  none  so  highly 
raised  and  useful  as  Joseph,  and  none  so  afflicted.  Heman 
was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  reach,  and  so  of  afflic- 
tions."—  Completed  Works,  vol.  vi.,  p.  650.  "What  the  writer 
saw  himself  of  the  terrible  agonies  of  Dr.  Anderson,  (bodily 
agonies,  for  they  were  confined  to  the  body,)  led  him  to  these 
reflections  at  the  time.  It  is  the  lambs  which  the  Good 
Shepherd  gathers  with  his  arms  and  carries  in  his  bosom,  and 
therefore  "Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wisdom,  nor 
the  mighty  man  in  his  power ;"  he  will  be  apt  to  need  all 
the  wisdom  and  power  which  he  possesses,  and  perhaps  more. 
I  was  convinced,  too,  of  the  perfect  folly  of  deferring  pre- 
paration for  death  till  death  comes,  and  made  in  a  manner 
to  hear  the  word  sounding  from  Heaven,  "If  the  righteous 
scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the  wicked  and  ungodly  ap- 
pear?" Heaven  is  sometimes  called  rest;  and  if  the  Doctor's 
re'eased  spirit  went  to  heaven,  as  is  confidently  hoped,  how 


352  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

sweet  was  the  perfect  rest,  and  how  light  and  trifling  do 
all  the  labors  and  torments  of  the  way  now  appear ! 
John  xvi :  21,  22. 

That  this  imperfect  exhibition  of  the  life  and  character  of 
one  of  the  precious  sons  of  Zion  may  serve  to  stir  up  some 
others  to  follow  him  even  as  he  followed  Christ,  is  the  earnest 
desire  and  prayer  of  the  writer. 

W.  M.  M'Elwee. 


MEMOIR 


OF    THE   LATE 


REV.   JOHN   H.  KENNEDY,  A.  M. 

Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  History  in  Jefferson  College, 
from  April,  1830,  till  his  death,  December  15th,  1840. 


BY  THE   LATE   REV.  M.  BROWN,  D.  D. 

President  of  Jefferson  College. 


[First  published  in  connection  with  a  sermon  delivered  in  the  College  Chapel, 
December  '2'th,  1840,  and  printed  in  Pittsburgh,  1841.] 


Rev.  John  H.  Kennedy  was  descended  from  a  very  respect- 
able and  pious  ancestry.  James  Kennedy,  Lis  grandfather, 
emigrated  from  Ireland,  and  settled,  first  in  New  Jersey,  and 
afterwards  in  Pequa,  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  where 
some  of  the  family  still  reside.  Rev.  Robert  Kennedy,  the 
father  of  the  deceased,  has  been  for  many  years  in  the  minis- 
try,  and  has  sustained  a  very  high  standing  among  his  breth- 
ren, for  talents,  learning,  and  respectability.  In  the  full 
vigor  of  body  and  mind,  he  still  lives  to  mourn  the  loss  of 
his  beloved  son. 

John  Herron,  Esq.,  the  maternal  grandfather,  lived  and 
died  on  "  Herron's  Branch,"  Franklin  county.  Of  his  nume- 
rous family,  the  only  survivor  is  Francis  Herron,  D.  D.,  who 
was  the  eldest  child.  At  the  house  of  this  venerated  grand- 
father, John  H.  Kennedy,  was  born,  November  11,  1801. 
His  mother  (Jane  Herron)  was,  in  the  mysterious  providence 
of  God,  removed  by  death,  when  John,  her  eldest  son,  was 
eighteen  months  old.  After  the  death  of  his  mother,  he  lived 
80*  (353) 


354  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

in  his  grandfather's  family  until  his  fifth  year.  During  this 
period  his  health  was  very  delicate,  and  little  hope  was  enter- 
tained that  he  should  attain  to  manhood.  His  recollections 
of  his  grandfather,  and  his  residence  in  his  family,  were  of 
the  most  pleasing  kind.  It  was,  he  remarks,  his  "vale  of 
Tempe  •"  and  the  time  spent  there,  his  "  Saturnalia."  About 
the  close  of  his  fifth  year  he  was  taken  home  by  his  father, 
who  had  married  a  second  wife.  He  was  early  sent  to  school, 
but  was  not  so  fond  of  study  as  of  play,  and  especially  such 
sports  as  required  vigorous  exertion.  These,  though  often 
exposing  him  to  danger,  and  sometimes  to  injury,  contributed 
to  that  remarkable  health  which  he  enjoyed  until  the  last 
year  of  his  life. 

In  his  ninth  or  tenth  year  he  commenced  the  Latin  gram- 
mar with  his  fathor,  under  whose  instruction  he  studied  the 
Latin  and  Greek  languages. 

Living  in  a  retired  place  in  the  country,  and  without  any 
young  associates  and  class-mates  to  stimulate  him,  he  had 
great  aversion  to  study,  and  attended  to  it  as  an  irksome  task 
until  his  fifteenth  year. 

As  to  his  religious  views  and  feelings  during  this  period, 
he  had  not  experienced  any  special  religious  impressions;  but 
being  favored  with  careful  religious  instruction,  he  was 
restrained  from  vicious  excesses,  was  sometimes  thoughtful, 
and  generally  conscientious  in  an  external  observance  of  the 
Sabbath,  and  religious  institutions.  He  states  that  he  does 
not  remember  ever  to  have  told  a  lie  in  his  life ;  nor  was  he 
ever  guilty  of  profaneness,  in  the  common  acceptation  of  the 
term — so  important  and  powerful  is  the  influence  of  early 
religious  instruction,  even  while  the  heart  is  devoid  of  all  holy 
principles,  and  entirely  destitute  of  all  relish  or  taste  for 
spiritual  things.  In  his  fifteenth  year  his  father  removed 
from  Franklin  county  to  Cumberland,  in  Maryland,  where  he 
took  charge  of  an  acadeni}',  and  was  at  the  same  time  pastor 
of  a  congregation.     There  he  was  introduced  to  new  scenes, 


MEMOIR   OF  REV.    JOHN    H.    KENNEDY.  355 

and  exposed  to  new  and  various  temptations,  from  witnessing 
profaneness,  Sabbath-breaking,  and  various  forms  of  vice  and 
dissipation  which  prevailed  in  the  place.  These  influences 
would  have  proved  ruinous  had  he  not  experienced  the 
restraints  of  a  religious  education ;  and  though  prevented  from 
going  to  the  same  vicious  excesses  as  others,  yet  he  suffered 
great  injury  from  these  unhallowed  influences.  He  became 
"hardened  through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin."  "For  the 
space  of  two  years,"  he  writes,  "  I  wholly  restrained  rjftyer 
before  God,  repined  at  parental  authority,  and  was  regardless 
of  almost  every  thing  but  self-gratification." 

We  now  come  to  a  period  of  his  life  somewhat  peculiar. 
"  This,"  he  remarks,  "  was  the  period  when  I  may  almost  say, 
(  after  the  straitest  sect,  I  lived  a  Pharisee.'  "  Like  other 
sinners,  he  had  often  purposed  to  amend  "  at  some  more  con- 
venient season,"  but  did  not  mean  to  commence  so  early  and 
so  vigorously  as  he  now  was  constrained  to  do. 

He  was  in  his  sixteenth  year  when  "  this  twilight  of  the 
day-spring  from  on  high"  commenced.  Immediately  after 
going  to  bed,  a  powerful  impression  was  made  on  his  mind, 
with  regard  to  the  danger  of  his  condition.  This  alarm  was 
not  occasioned  by  any  particular  sin,  recently  committed  ;  but 
by  a  sense  of  the  guilt  and  danger  of  prevailing  thoughtless- 
ness and  irreligion.  The  necessity  and  nature  of  repentance 
seems  not  to  have  occurred  ;  but  the  conviction  was  irresisti- 
ble, that  he  must  amend,  and  that  without  delay.  The  duty 
of  immediately  resuming  prayer,  which  he  had  so  long 
neglected,  was  presented  to  his  mind,  but  he  concluded  it 
would  be  safest  to  reform  first,  else  his  prayers  would  not  be 
acceptable.  "  Such,"  he  adds,  "  were  my  reasonings  and 
resolutions  ;  such  my  entire  ignorance  of  my  own  helplessness 
and  depravity  ;  and  it  may  be  well  asked,  '  can  any  good  thing 
come  out  of  an  experience,  in  its  commencement,  so  much  at 
variance  with  every  feature  of  true  piety  V  The  resolutions 
formed  did  not  pass  away,  as  '  the  morning  cloud  and  early 


356  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

dew  ;'  for  God  was  verily  here,  though  I  knew  it  not,  and  had 
erected  no  altar  to  his  praise."  The  reformation  contemplated 
continued,  and  was  extended  much  further  and  deeper  than 
was  at  first  anticipated,  "  though  the  light  he  had  was  like 
moon-light,  devoid  of  heat,  and  which  casts  a  disheartening 
gloom  over  whatever  it  partially  illuminates."  In  the  midst 
of  all  this  darkness  conscience  was  faithful  at  its  post,  and 
increasingly  so,  as  he  obtained  more  light  and  clearer  views 
of  ufe  divine  law  in  its  spirituality  and  extent.  Whilst  he 
had  no  "  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  after  the  inner  man," 
but  rather  an  increasing  opposition  to  its  strictness  and  purity, 
still  he  was  constrained  by  the  power  of  conscience  to  relin- 
quish every  practice  with  regard  to  which  he  entertained  any 
misgivings,  although  it  cost  him  a  terrible  struggle,  and 
brought  him  to  his  knees  before  God. 

November,  1818.  About  the  close  of  his  seventeenth  year 
he  became  a  student  of  this  college.  This  was  a  very  inter- 
esting period  of  his  life.  Whilst  the  greater  part  of  the  stu- 
dents here  at  that  time,  as  they  generally  have  been,  and  we 
hope  always  will  be,  were  religious,  or  moral,  it  so  happened, 
owing  to  some  previous  acquaintance,  his  first  associates  were 
of  a  very  different  character.  Among  them  was  one  who  was 
suddenly  killed  by  a  stroke  of  lightning,  at  the  instant  of  his 
uttering  the  language  of  daring  profanity.  His  wild  asso- 
ciates endeavored  to  dissipate  all  his  serious  impressions  ;  but 
no  solicitations  could  induce  him  to  engage  in  immoral  prac- 
tices. His  inclination  and  purpose,  before  he  came  to  college, 
was  to  be  a  lawyer ;  but  his  conscience  now  began  to  rendci 
him  uneasy  at  the  prospect  of  the  temptations  he  should  have 
to  encounter  in  that  profession. 

He  had  not,  as  yet,  openly  professed  religion  by  partaking 
of  the  Lord's  Supper.  He  had  designed  to  do  so  at  a  future 
period;  but  it  was  deferred,  not  from  any  sense  of  unfitness — 
for  he  had  great  confidence  in  his  supposed  piety — but  felt 
reluctance  to  make  so  public  a  separation  from  the  world. 


MEMOIR   OF  REV.    JOHN   H.    KENNEDY.  357 

At  times  lie  felt  considerable  uneasiness  from  those  solemn 
declarations  of  Christ — "  Whosoever  shall  be  ashamed  of  me," 
&c. — Mark  viii :  38.  Referring  to  this  in  his  notes,  written 
some  time  after  he  entertained  a  hope  of  a  saving  change,  he 
remarks,  "  I  am  now  astonished  how  I  could  evade  this  strik- 
ing declaration,  while  living  in  express  opposition  to  it,  and 
still  flatter  myself  that  I  was  a  Christian.  Yet  such  is  the 
blindness  of  the  heart  till  Jesus  makes  it  wise."  An£  he 
concludes  some  very  judicious  and  penitential  reflections  on 
his  case,  as  follows  :  "  My  case  was,  in  many  respects,  more 
hopeless  than  that  of  any  wretched  sinner  I  ever  read  of. 
For  though  I  had  never  gone  to  '  the  same  excess  of  riot,'  as 
many  others,  yet  I  believe  I  never  heard  or  read  of  one  so 
completely,  and  for  so  long  a  time,  and  apparently  so  hope- 
lessly deluded  as  I  was  during  that  time.  Nothing  now  in 
my  past  history,  or  even  in  that  of  the  world,  convinces  me 
more  fully  of  the  power  of  God  than  the  fact  that  I  now  feel 
myself  to  be  a  sinner ;  for  though  my  sense  of  my  sinfulness 
is  still  slight,  yet  I  can  pray,  in  some  measure,  with  meaning, 
'  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner.'  " 

After  he  was  some  months  at  college,  he  determines  to 
change  his  lodging,  and  his  associates.  He  obtains  boarding 
with  Dr.  Ramsey,  (then  residing  a  short  distance  in  the  coun- 
try,) now  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  Associate  Theological 
Seminary.  For  this  venerable  father  and  his  family  he 
always  entertained  a  very  high  regard.  Here  he  was  removed 
from  many  temptations,  and  was  rigidly  punctual  in  attending 
to  religious  duties,  in  private,  in  the  family,  in  the  social 
prayer-meeting,  and  the  house  of  God.  Here,  too,  he  was 
happily  associated  with  Joseph  Trimble,  as  his  room-mate — a 
fellow-student  of  devoted  piety  and  faithfulness,  who  appears 
to  have  been  a  principal  instrument  in  his  conversion  to  God. 

March,  1819.  The  Lord's  Supper  was  to  be  administered 
in  Dr.  M'Millan's  church,  where  the  students  usually  attended. 
His  friend  Trimble,  mentioning  the  names  of  some  of  the 


358  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

applicants  for  admission,  and  stating  their  religious  experience, 
with  which  he  had  made  himself  acquainted,  took  occasion  to 
make  a  direct  and  personal  appeal  to  his  young  friend.  He 
expressed  to  him  his  douhts  with  regard  to  his  self-righteous 
hopes,  and  his  fears  that  he  was  under  a  dreadful  delusion, 
and  still  in  "  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and  bond  of  iniquity." 
The  arrow  was  carried  to  his  heart.  Never  before  did  the 
possibility  of  deception  occur  to  him,  though  the  same  truths 
had  been  frequently  presented  under  the  searching  and  pow- 
erful ministry  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  and  others.  His  friend  urged 
the  point  of  his  danger  and  guilt  in  rejecting  the  Saviour, 
and  concurring  with  the  Jews  in  "  murdering  God's  only  Son." 
These  expostulations  awakened  indescribable  emotions,  and 
"  drew  from  him  a  flood  of  tears." 

He  felt  that  he  must  admit  some  of  the  charges,  yet  sup- 
posed that  his  friend  was  ignorant  of  the  faithful  manner  he 
attended  to  secret  duties.  Still  he  felt  himself  in  awful  dan- 
ger. Hell  appeared  infinitely  dreadful.  Sure  work  seemed 
to  be  absolutely  necessary.  He  prayed  with  more  frequency 
and  earnestness ;  but  his  perplexity  and  distress  remain.  The 
arrows  of  God  stick  fast  in  his  soul. 

About  this  time  he  went  to  Washington,  seven  miles  dis- 
tant, where  the  sacrament  was  to  be  administered.  He  went 
in  company  with  a  number  of  pious  students,  several  of  whom 
had  left  Washington  on  account  of  difliculties  that  had 
occurred  in  reference  to  the  college,  but  still  retained  a  warm 
attachment  to  the  congregation,  where  some  of  them  had  been 
born  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  This  praying  band  fre- 
quently visited  Washington,  and  especially  on  sacramental 
occasions,  delighted  to  mingle  with  kindred  spirits  in  pouring 
out  their  souls  in  prayer  and  praise,  in  the  social  prayer-meet- 
ing, and  in  the  public  sanctuary. 

The  account  of  this  visit,  and  his  exercises  on  the  occasion, 
I  give  in  Mr.  Kennedy's  own  words  :  "  I  went  to  Washing- 
ton, &c.     My  ears  were  now  open  ;  I  heard  several  awakening 


MEMOIR  OF  REV.   JOHN   H.    KENNEDY.  359 

sermons.  I  staid  with  Mr.  Brown,  then  pastor  of  Washington 
congregation,  now  President  of  Jefferson  College.  I  heard  a 
good  deal  of  conversation  on  religion.  Some  remarks  on  the 
responsible  situation  of  clergymen's  children,  were  principally 
made  at  me,  and  even  personally  applied  to  me,  These  I 
felt,  but  answered  not.  The  agency  of  the  Spirit  of  God  was 
spoken  of.  I  wondered  what  this  meant ;  and  I  now  suppose 
that,  although  I  had  often  read  of  him,  and  been  told  of  him, 
yet  in  reality  I  never  before  so  much  as  thought  '  whether 
there  was  a  Holy  Ghost.'  While  at  Washington  I  was  very 
miserable.  I  suspected  some  change  to  be  necessary — what, 
I  knew  not,  and  yet  was  desirous  of  bringing  myself  to  it. 
I  had  recourse  to  frequent  prayer ;  not  so  much  to  seek  the 
blessing  of  God,  as  from  a  notion  of  the  transforming  efficacy 
of  prayer.  I  began  to  look  upon  myself  as  under  conviction, 
and  supposed  that  the  time  which  had  already  elapsed,  and 
the  anxiety  which  I  had  undergone,  ought  to  have  brought 
matters  to  a  favorable  issue.  I  still  wanted  the  payment  of 
a  debt,  and  not  the  bestowment  of  grace.  I  strove  hard  to 
make  to  myself  a  new  heart  and  a  right  spirit ;  ignorant  still 
of  the  life-giving  spirit."  While  he  was  thus  "like  a  help- 
less captive,  sold  under  the  power  of  sin" — a  prisoner — envel- 
oped in  darkness — blind  with  regard  to  the  method  of  relief — ■ 
trusting  to  his  own  righteousness,  and  his  own  efforts,  and 
not  to  the  righteousness  of  Christ  and  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  Lord  "  was  leading  him  by  a  way  he  knew  not." 
By  this  painful  process  he  was  teaching  him  more  of  his 
guilt,  depravity,  and  utter  helplessness,  and  the  folly  and 
wickedness  of  trusting  to  his  own  righteousness,  his  morality, 
his  prayers,  his  religious  observances,  his  resolutions,  his 
convictions  and  his  own  unavailing  efforts.  In  this  way  the 
awakened  sinner,  while  still  in  the  "gall  of  bitterness" — • 
nothing  better  by  his  convictions,  but  growing  worse  and 
worse  every  hour — is  by  an  unseen  power  driven  from  his 
refuges  of  lies — taught  by  his  own  experience  the  wickedness 


360  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

of  his  heart,  and  his  utter  helplessness.  Thus  cut  off  from 
every  other  hope,  and  despairing  of  all  created  help,  he  is 
brought  to  the  foot  of  the  cross,  and  enabled  to  say  from  the 
heart, 

"A  guilty,  weak  and  helpless  worm, 
On  thy  kind  arms  I  fall  : 
Be  thou  my  strength  and  righteousness, 
My  Jesus  and  my  all." 

After  returning  to  Canonsburg  in  this  distressing  state  of 
mind,  and  after  going  to  bed,  the  declaration  of  the  Saviour  to 
Zaccheus — "This  day  is  salvation  come  to  this  house,"  Luke 
xix  :  9 — was  brought  to  his  mind  with  great  force,  and  his 
mind  dwelt  upon  it  with  delight,  as  a  certain  evidence  that  he 
was  now  an  heir  of  glory — and  probably  some  will  be  ready 
to  say,  surely  this  is  the  time  of  his  deliverance,  the  hour  of 
his  conversion  to  God.  But  oh  the  deceitfulness  of  the  heart, 
and  the  subtile  wiles  of  the  adversary  !  His  hopes  and  joys 
from  this  source  were  all  a  delusion  of  Satan,  "  transformed 
into  an  angel  of  light."  He  was  soon  mercifully  delivered 
from  a  delusion,  by  which  many  are  ruined  forever.  He  soon 
discovered  that  a  mere  suggestion  of  a  text  of  Scripture, 
unaccompanied  by  a  change  of  heart,  and  the  appropriate 
fruits  of  holiness,  is  no  better  evidence  of  acceptance  with 
God  than  the  cast  of  a  die,  or  the  "flight  of  birds." 

After  continuing  some  days  in  the  same  state  of  anxiety 
and  bondage,  it  occurred  to  him  "not  to  work  harder,  but  to 
believe  and  il<'iicii<l  on  Christ  i'<>\-  acceptance."  This  dawn 
of  light,  which  soon  vanished,  seems  to  have  been  the  first 
view  of  the  plan  of  salvation  which  had  over  entered  his 
darkened  mind.  A  few  days  after  he  remarks,  "  that  he 
degenerated  in  works,  without  growing  in  faith,"'  until  restored 
by  the  monition  of  his  friend  Trimble,  who  watched  aver  him 
with   prayerful  concern. 

Some  days  after  he  awoke  in  the  morning  in  a  very  pleasiug 
frame  of  mind  :   "  I  had  a  view  of  God's  glory,  to  which  I 


MEMOIR   OF  REV.    JOHN   H.    KENNEDY.  361 

was  before  a  stranger ;  all  nature  seemed  to  be  directed  by 
an  omnipotent,  unerring  hand.  The  doleful  melancholy 
which  had  brooded  over  me  so  long  vanished  in  an  instant, 
and  I  was  enabled  to  'rejoice  that  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth.'  " 

That  this  was  the  dawning  of  spiritual  day  he  seems  him- 
self to  have  entertained  some  doubt,  as  the  glory  of  God  in 
Christ  was  not  then  distinctly  the  object  of  contemplation.  But 
there  is  reason  to  believe,  from  subsequent  experience,  that 
this  was  indeed  the  "  star  of  Bethlehem,"  although  this  pleas- 
ing calm  was  afterwards  beclouded,  and  his  views  of  a  Saviour 
md  the  plan  of  salvation  very  obscure,  and  he  might  be  said 
So  "  see  men  as  trees  walking."  Yet  there  is  little  doubt  that 
»c  was  the  dawn  of  the  sun  of  righteousness ;  and  although 
regeneration  is  an  instantaneous  change,  and  the  precise 
moment  difficult  to  be  ascertained,  yet  with  regard  to  the 
evidence  of  it,  and  the  work  of  sanctification,  this  is  progres- 
sive, and  admits  of  various  degrees,  from  the  first  dawning  ray 
to  the  full  blaze  of  noon. 

At  the  close  of  the  winter  session,  1819,  Mr.  Kennedy 
returned  home  to  Cumberland.  Here,  in  the  midst  of  his 
old  accpuaintances  and  companions,  he  felt  himself  as  a  lonely 
stranger,  without  the  sympathy  of  kindred  spirits,  and  rather 
pointed  at  by  the  finger  of  scorn.  He  was  very  conscientious 
in  the  discharge  of  known  duty,  which  cost  him  sometimes 
painful  sacrifices.  His  father  was  absent,  at  Philadelphia, 
attending  the  General  Assembly ;  and  he  conducted  family 
worship  for  the  first  time,  not  without  a  painful  conflict. 
Although  delivered  from  that  deep  distress  which  he  had 
formerly  experienced,  and  though  evidently  growing  in  humil- 
ity and  the  knowledge  of  himself,  his  sinfulness  and  weakness, 
yet  he  had  not  those  clear  and  comforting  views  of  a  Saviour, 
by  which  he  could  rejoice  in  him  with  confidence  as  "  all  his 
salvation  and  all  his  delight."  At  this  stage  of  his  expe- 
rience lie  found  one  individual  in  Cumberland  who,  in  the 
31 


362  history  or  Jefferson  college. 

sovereign  providence  of  God,  was  directed  to  "  teach  him  the 
way  more  perfectly."  This  was  a  pious  German,  now  an 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  This  man,  who  had  him- 
self tasted  of  the  "  wormwood  and  the  gall,"  understood  bis 
disease,  and  directed  to  the  proper  remedy.  u  Oh,"  said  he, 
(with  the  German  accent,)  "it  is  good  to  feel  the  wickedness 
of  the  heart.  We  ought  to  be  thankful  that  God  has  showed 
it  to  us.  It  is  just  what  the  apostle  says  in  the  7th  chapter 
of  Romans :  '  He  then  preached  to  him  Christ  and  him  cru- 
cified, as  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness.' "  From  thi? 
time  his  views  of  the  mediation  of  Christ,  and  of  acceptance 
through  him,  were  much  altered,  and  his  spiritual  prospects 
proportionably  brightened.  He  now  enjoyed  peace  with  God, 
and  at  length  attained  an  "  assurance  of  faith,"  which  was 
seldom  interrupted.  At  this  time  he  was  admitted  to  the 
communion  of  the  church.  At  what  particular  time  he  expe- 
rienced regeneration  he  could  not  say — he  believed  it  took 
place  before  his  admission  to  the  Lord's  Supper.  He  remarks : 
"  "What  I  can  principally  say  on  this  point  is,  '  that  whereas 
I  was  blind,  now  I  see/  " 

On  his  return  to  college,  the  gloom  which  had  brooded  over 
him  so  long  was  dispelled  :  he  became  more  sociable  and 
cheerful — felt  a  warmer  love  for  Christians,  and  a  more  ten- 
der concern  for  impenitent  sinners — took  an  active  part  in  the 
prayer-meeting — attended  to  his  duties  as  a  student  with  dili- 
gence and  success. '  Wisdom's  ways  were  ways  of  pleasantness. 
During  his  whole  course  at  college  he  sustained  a  high  stand- 
ing as  to  talents  and  scholarship,  and  graduated  with  honor, 
May,  1820. 

I  have  dwelt  the  longer  on  the  religious  experience  of  Mr. 
Kennedy,  because  it  is  in  some  respects  remarkable,  and  in 
itself  peculiarly  instructive  and  searching;  and  because  it 
appears  to  have  been  bis  desire  that  tbis  part  of  his  history 
ehould  be  useful  and  instructive  to  his  family  and  friends, 
and  the  occasion  of  solemn  warning  and  self-examination 


MEMOIH  OF  REV-   JOHN   H.    KENNEDY.  363 

and  hence  in  the  biography  of  himself,  which  he  commenced 
but  did  not  finish,  his  experience  is  that  which  he  has  given 
most  in  detail. 

The  subsequent  years  of  his  life,  though  furnishing  much 
that  is  interesting,  must  be  glanced  at  with  more  brevity. 

The  summer  of  1820  was  spent  at  his  father's,  in  general 
reading,  and  in  efforts  to  do  good,  as  he  had  opportunity.  A 
Bible  Society  was  commenced ;  also  a  prayer-meeting,  of 
which  we  may  be  sure  the  honest  German  was  an  important 
member.  Towards  the  close  of  the  summer  there  was  a  pow- 
erful and  extensive  awakening  in  Cumberland  and  the  vicinity. 
The  immediate  instruments  were  Nicholas  Patterson,  a  licen- 
tiate from  the  Presbytery  of  Baltimore,  and  John  Gloucester, 
a  colored  man,  a  member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia, 
much  respected  by  all  classes  for  his  talents  and  usefulness, 
and  his  modest,  unassuming  piety.  Prior  to  the  visit  of  these 
ministers,  which  was  providential,  serious  impressions  had 
been  made  on  the  minds  of  many,  no  doubt  in  answer  to 
prayer,  and  by  other  instrumentalities.  These  impressions 
were  now  increased  and  developed  :  "  One  soweth  and  another 
reapeth ;  and  in  both  cases  the  glory  should  be  given  to  God, 
ind  not  to  man.  A  narrative  of  this  revival  was  published 
some  time  after  by  Mr.  Kennedy,  and  extensively  circulated. 

In  October,  1820,  he  started  for  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Princeton.  On  his  way  he  tarried  some  time  in  Franklin, 
among  his  friends  and  acquaintances,  and  endeavored  to 
improve  his  visits  by  faithful  personal  conversation  with 
individuals.  His  youthful  zeal,  which  probably  was  not 
always  regulated  by  prudence  and  a  correct  knowledge  of 
human  nature,  gave  great  offence.  He  soon  found  that  "  old 
Adam  was  too  strong  for  young  Melancthon."  Persons  alto- 
gether unaccustomed  to  such  plain  dealing,  denounced  him 
as  an  enthusiast  and  a  methodist.  It  is  not  pleasant  to 
persons  destitute  of  true  piety,  and  yet  relying  with  self- 
complacency  on  an  outward  form  or  profession,  to  have  their 


364  HISTORY   OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

repose  disturbed  by  bonest  appeals  calculated  to  destroy  tbeir 
delusive  hopes.  Heuce  the  charge  agaiust  faithful  reprovers, 
as  the  "troublers  of  Israel." 

November,  1820.  He  arrived  at  Princeton,  where  he 
studied  the  regular  term  of  three  years.  To  this  period  he 
always  reverted  with  endearing  recollections.  He  commenced 
his  theological  studies  with  diligence  and  success,  and  was 
soon  distinguished  by  his  talents  and  acquirements. 

In  the  fall  vacation,  on  his  return  home,  he  was  taken 
under  the  care  of  Carlisle  Presbytery.  He  revisited  his 
friends,  who  had  been  offended  with  his  former  plain  dealing, 
and  endeavored,  not  without  success,  to  remove  some  of  their 
prejudices.  Among  the  various  incidents  which  occurred 
while  at  Princeton,  he  has  recorded  the  death  of  a  dear  young 
brother,  (Turner,)  to  whom  he  was  much  attached,  and  whom 
he  expected  to  be  his  companion  and  fellow-laborer  as  a 
missionary.  The  following  I  find  in  his  notes  :  "  When  the 
hand  of  death  was  evidently  upon  him,  the  brethren  were 
called  into  his  room,  and  he  was  strengthened  to  utter  a  few 
sentences.  'I  go,'  says  he,  'to  the  world  of  spirits.  Be 
more  faithful  than  I  have  been  ;  and  may  the  Lord  make 
you  instrumental  in  tearing  down  the  strongholds  of  sin  and 
satan.'  He  had  trusted  his  salvation  on  Christ  in  life,  and 
'  none  but  Jesus'  was  his  cry  in  death.  He  bade  them  all 
farewell — shook  hands  with  the  professors  and  his  physician, 
expressing  his  thanks  for  their  kindness.  Prayer  was  offered 
and  a  hymn  sung.  The  scene  was  solemn  and  affecting  —  to 
see  seventy  young  men,  with  the  professors  and  ph}rsician,  all 
melted  in  tears/'  This  case,  and  that  of  another  student, 
(Krebbs,)  dying  in  the  triumph  of  faith,  seemed  to  disarm 
death  of  his  terrors.  "  No  event,"  says  he,  "  ever  disarmed 
death  so  much  of  his  terrors  to  me.  The  same  effect  I  find 
was  produced  on  the  minds  of  others." 

During  the  winter  or  spring  of  1821,  he  visited  Morris- 
town,  New  Jersey,  where  a  powerful  revival  had  commenced, 


MEMOIR   OP   REV.    JOHN    H.    KENNEDY.  365 

which  pervaded  the  whole  country.  This  visit  was  profitable 
to  himself,  and  useful  to  others.  His  own  experience  quali- 
fied him  for  being  a  safe  and  useful  adviser  to  anxious  souls, 
to  guard  them  against  the  various  refuges  and  delusions 
which  he  had  himself  experienced. 

October,  1822 — He  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel — 
aged  twenty  years  and  ten  months.  Deeply  impressed  with 
the  responsibilities  of  the  work  to  which  he  was  to  be  devoted, 
he  set  apart  a  day  for  fasting  and  prayer,  a  duty  which  he 
often  practiced  in  the  succeeding  years  of  his  life.  After 
his  licensure  to  preach  the  gospel,  he  continued  his  studies 
another  year  at  Princeton. 

During  his  residence  at  Princeton  he  was  frequently  har- 
assed with  doubts,  which  he  had  never  entertained,  even  in 
his  former  impenitent  state.  These  doubts  respected  the 
very  foundations  of  religion,  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
even  the  existence  of  God.  They  were  exceedingly  distress- 
ing, and  of  long  continuance.  They  did  not  arise  from  any 
want  of  arguments  in  support  of  the  truth.  These  he  con- 
sidered conclusive )  and  the  objections  against  these  great 
fundamental  truths  he  considered  of  no  weight  in  point  of 
argument,  and  yet  he  was  often  greatly  distressed  on  account 
of  his  want  of  a  pleasing,  satisfactory  conviction  of  the  truth. 
It  did  not,  indeed,  influence  his  conduct,  but  interrupted  his 
comfort.  It  was  plainly  a  device  of  the  enemy  j  and  after 
conversing  with  Dr.  Alexander,  he  found  that  the  difficulty 
was  not  to  be  removed  by  mere  argument,  or  by  the  exercise 
of  his  own  reasoning  alone,  but  by  the  effectual  application 
of  the  truth  to  his  heart  by  the  mighty  power  of  God.  In 
this  way  he  sought  and  found  relief,  and  was  never  afterwards 
troubled  with  these  doubts.  During  his  last  year  at  the 
Seminary,  the  doctrines  denominated  Hopkinsian  were  fre- 
quently the  subject  of  warm  discussion.  In  these  discussions 
Mr.  Kennedy  took  an  active  and  decided  part,  in  opposition 
to  what  he  believed  erroneous  in  these  doctrines.  A  debate, 
31* 


I 

366  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

prepared  at  that  time  on  the  subject  of  the  atonement,  was 
afterwards  published  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Christian 
Advocate.  Its  admission  into  that  periodical  by  the  venerable 
editor,  Dr.  Green,  is  no  slight  evidence  of  its  intrinsic  ability 
and  excellence,  though  written  by  one  who  had  just  arrived 
at  the  years  of  manhood.  In  an  intellectual  point  of  view 
these  discussions  were  of  service  to  him ;  and  whilst  he  con- 
tended for  what  he  believed  important  truths — being  a 
Calvinist  of  the  real  old  school — it  did  not  alienate  his 
affections  from  his  brethren  who  differed  from  him. 

The  following  is  from  notes  written  soon  after  leaving 
Princeton,  September,  1823  : 

"  Our  exercises  before  and  at  parting  were  very  affecting. 
While  sitting  with  my  dear  brethren  at  the  last  communion 
sea'son,  I  thought  affectingly  of  our  Lord's  declaration,  Matt. 
xxvi :  29 — 'I  will  not  henceforth  drink  of  this  fruit  of  the 
vine  (with  you)  until  that  day/  &c.  At  our  last  Saturday 
evening  prayer  meeting,  I  asked  a  full  and  hearty  pardon  of 
all,  whose  feelings  I  might  at  any  time  have  injured.  We 
had  a  truly  melting  time.  To  all  my  brethren  I  was  sincerely 
attached ;  and  no  diversity  of  sentiment  could  wean  me  from 
those  in  whom  I  perceived  so  much  of  the  divine  nature.  I 
sincerely  seek  and  love  and  defend  the  truth,  but  can  love 
and  rejoice  in  all  those  who  maintain  and  adorn  the  leading 
features  of  the  gospel.  Of  my  brethren  in  the  Seminary  I 
can  sincerely  say, 

'In  such  society  as  this,  my  willing  soul  would  stay.' 

Towards  my  class-mates  I  had  feelings  of  peculiar  regard — 
with  whom  a  three  years'  intercourse  made  me  well 
acquainted." 

Leaving  the  Seminary  in  the  fall  of  1823,  he  intinerates  in 
different  directions  about  eighteen  months.  He  preached  for 
some  time  in  Bedford,  and  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania ; 
traveled  through  some  of  the  Western  States ;  visited  Madi- 


MEMOIR  OF  fi,EV.   JOHN    H.    KENNEDY.  36? 

son,  in  Indiana,  where  no  doubt  he  took  occasion  to  weep 
over  the  grave  of  his  friend  Trimble. 

He  traveled  also  to  the  South,  and  preached  for  some  time 
at  Wilmington  and  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina.  In  the 
month  of  April,  1825,  he  again  arrives  at  his  father's,  who 
had  now  returned  to  his  former  residence,  in  Franklin  county, 
In  the  summer  he  visits  Philadelphia— preaches  in  the  Sixth 
Church,  as  a  supply,  for  three  months — -receives  a  call  from 
that  congregation,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  as  their 
pastor,  November,  1825,  in  the  twenty-fourth  year  of  his  age* 

Previously  to  his  settlement  in  the  Sixth  Church  he  had 
been  appointed  chaplain,  to  go  out  in  the  Brandywine,  the 
government  vessel,  appointed  to  carry  La  Fayette  back  to  his 
native  land.  This  appointment  was  by  some  means  prevented 
from  reaching  him  until  after  his  installment.  Had  he  re- 
ceived it  sooner  it  might  have  given  a  new  direction  to  the 
current  of  his  life. 

His  settlement  in  Philadelphia  was  unsought,  as  it  was 
unexpected,  by  himself.  The  station  was  one  of  great 
importance  and  responsibility  for  so  young  a  man.  The 
Sixth  Church  grew  out  of  a  division  of  the  old  Pine  Street 
Church,  of  which  Dr.  Alexander  had  been  pastor  when  called 
to  Princeton.  On  the  settlement  of  Dr.  Ely,  this  division 
took  place,  and  the  Sixth  Church  was  formed.  It  contained 
a  large  portion  of  intelligence,  piety  and  respectability ;  but 
its  location  in  the  vicinity  of  other  churches,  and  certain 
pecuniary  embarrassments,  were  unfavorable  to  its  growth. 
It  had  become  vacant  by  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Neil,  who 
had  accepted  a  call  to  the  Presidency  of  Dickinson  College, 
After  laboring  a  year  in  this  congregation,  and  discouraged 
at  his  prospect  of  usefulness,  he  determines  to  resign  his 
charge.  The  Presbytery  meet,  and  with  the  concurrent 
desire  of  the  congregation,  persuade  him  to  remain.  His 
intention  was  at  this  time  to  have  gone  to  Liberia ;  and  he 
often  expressed  his  regret  that  he  yielded  to  the  advice  to 


368  HISTORY  OP  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

remain  in  Philadelphia,  as  he  remarks  that  he  then  "had  a 
burning  zeal  in  behalf  of  Africa — such  as  he  never  felt  in 
behalf  of  any  other  object."  In  1828  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Harriet  McCalmont,  of  Philadelphia,  whose  intelligence, 
piety,  and  accomplished  education,  qualified  her  eminently 
for  being  to  him  a  prudent  counselor  and  cheering  companion. 
December,  1829,  at  his  own  request,  his  connexion  with  the 
Sixth  Church  was  dissolved,  having  continued  their  pastor 
four  years.  During  this  period  he  discharged  the  duties  of 
his  office  with  ability  and  faithfulness.  The  visible  fruits 
of  his  ministry  were  not  equal  to  his  desires,  and  hence  his 
frequent  discouragements,  which  resulted  in  his  resignation; 
yet  his  labors  were  blessed  to  the  edification  of  Christians,  and 
a  good?)/  number  added  to  the  church.  The  charge  of  a 
congregation  in  a  city  is  one  of  great  responsibility  and 
hazard,  especially  to  a  young  man ;  yet  was  Mr.  Kennedy 
enabled  to  sustain  a  high  and  increasing  reputation  among 
his  brethren,  and  the  intelligent  part  of  the  religious  com- 
munity, as  an  able,  lucid  and  instructive  preacher  of  the 
gospel.  It  is  known  that  he  stood  very  high  in  the  estima- 
tion of  his  venerable  patron  and  friend,  Dr.  Green,  who 
occupied  a  pew  in  his  church,  and  sat  with  delight  under  the 
ministry  of  his  young  friend. 

His  connection  with  his  congregation  was  dissolved, 
December,  1829.  He  now  commits  himself  to  the  providence 
of  God,  without  any  definite  object  or  plan  as  to  future 
settlement.  He  is  urged  to  make  a  tour  to  Missouri,  with  a 
view  of  settlement  at  St.  Charles,  and  accordingly  leaves 
Philadelphia  with  that  intention.  The  severity  of  the  season 
prevents  him,  and  he  is  detained  in  Franklin  county.  A  call 
is  prepared  for  him  from  the  congregation  of  Newville  —  one 
of  the  largest  and  wealthiest  in  Carlisle  Presbytery.  At  this 
crisis,  being  uncertain  aud  anxious  as  to  the  path  of  duty,  he 
sets  apart,  as  was  his  frequent  custom,  a  day  of  fasting  and 
prayer,  to  seek  divine  direction.     It  was  the  11th  of  March, 


MEMOIR  OF  REV.    JOHN   H.    KENNEDY.  369 

1830.  It  is  worthy  of  observation  that  on  the  evening  of 
this  same  clay,  altogether  unexpected  to  him,  he  received  a 
letter  from  this  place,  inquiring  as  to  his  views  in  relation  to 
a  professorship  in  this  college,  in  connection  with  the  charge 
of  a  small  congregation,  about  five  miles  distant. 

He  was  at  first  startled  at  the  proposal  of  a  Professorship 
in  Mathematics,  for  which  he  considered  himself  less  qualified 
than  for  any  other  department.  On  further  consideration, 
with  the  hope  that  by  diligent  exertion  he  might  be  prepared 
for  the  service,  he  is  inclined  to  accept.  He  visits  this  place 
in  May,  receives  and  accepts  the  appointment  from  the  col- 
lege, and  a  call  from  the  congregation  of  Centre.  He  returns 
to  Philadelphia,  and  arrives  here  with  his  family,  and  enters 
on  the  duties  of  his  profession,  June,  1830. 

Professor  Miller,  in  view  of  whose  resignation,  on  account 
of  age,  the  appointment  was  made,  still  continued  to  officiate 
for  some  time.  This  afforded  opportunity  for  Mr.  Kennedy 
gradually  to  prepare  himself  for  conducting  the  departments 
of  Natural  Philosophy  and  Mathematics,  which  he  was  ena- 
bled to  do  with  great  credit  to  himself,  and  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  all  concerned.  After  the  division  of  the 
departments  of  Natural  Science  and  Mathematics,  and  the 
appointment  of  a  distinct  Professor  for  the  latter,  he  devoted 
himself  more  exclusively  to  Natural  Philosophy  and  Chemis- 
try, in  which  he  greatly  excelled. 

His  life  and  history  during  his  residence  among  us  for  ten 
years  is  known  to  us  all,  and  need  not  here  be  detailed. 

As  an  instructor,  he  was  thorough,  discriminating,  accurate 
and  lucid  in  his  illustrations.  As  a  member  of  the  faculty, 
he  was  energetic,  faithful,  fearless,  and  always  ready  to  share 
the  responsibility  of  discipline  and  government. 

As  a  preacher,  he  was  instructive,  solemn,  searching  and 
forcible. 

As  a,  pastor,  he  was  laborious  and  faithful. 


370  HISTORY   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE. 

As  a  ivriter,  he  was  characteristically  lucid,  simple  and 
concise.  "Multum  in  parvo"  appeared  to  be  his  motto  in  all 
his  productions.  He  wrote  with  groat  facility,  and  furnished 
for  "  the  periodicals"  a  number  of  essays,  which  do  him  great 
credit. 

His  talents  were  various,  and  in  some  respects  of  a  high 
order.  He  had  more  of  the  intellectual  than  the  aesthetic — 
more  of  argumentation  than  poetry,  in  his  composition — more 
of  the  instructive  than  the  pathetic.  There  was  one  pecu- 
liarity in  which  he  was  defective.  There  was  something  in 
the  construction  of  his  mind  which  led  him  to  attach  undue 
importance  to  little  things,  as  though  he  viewed  them  through 
a  magnifying  glass.  This  induced  him  sometimes  to  give  a 
prominence  to  smaller  matters,  and  to  press  the  weaker  points. 
This  was  noticed  while  he  was  a  student  at  Princeton,  and  has 
been  noticed  in  some  of  his  literary  productions.  This  con- 
stitutional peculiarity  had  no  doubt  an  influence  also  in  his 
worldly  plans,  which  induced  him  to  engage  in  various 
schemes  and  enterprises,  which  his  friends  considered  rather 
unwise  and  visionary. 

His  manner  was  not  always  the  best.  There  was  something 
in  this  which  at  times  had  the  appearance  of  harshness  and 
severity.  He  was  remarkably  honest  and  faithful  in  testify- 
ing against  sin,  wherever  it  appeared.  He  seemed  habitually 
to  act  on  the  principle,  "  thou  shalt  not  hate  thy  neighbor  in 
thine  heart.  Thou  shalt  in  any  wise  rebuke  thy  neighbor, 
nor  suffer  sin  upon  him."  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore, 
that  he  sometimes  gave  offence.  Still  it  may  be  questioned 
whether  offences  of  this  kind  are  not  to  be  charged  to  the  too 
general  unfaithfulness  in  this  respect  of  professors,  Christians 
and  ministers,  rather  than  to  a  want  of  prudence  on  the  part 
of  the  faithful  reprover. 

Mr.  Kennedy  was  a  man  of  great  benevolence  and  liberality 
This  feature  of  his  character  was  not  generally  understood. 


MEMOIR   OF   REV.    JOHN    H.    KENNEDY.  371 

In  his  worldly  transactions  he  was  exact ;  and  perhaps  some- 
times too  particular  in  smaller  matters.  But  when  proper 
objects  of  benevolence  were  presented,  no  man  amongst  us 
was  more  liberal,  according  to  his  means.  Besides  the  public 
contributions,  in  which  he  was  always  among  the  first,  he 
performed  many  acts  of  private  liberality,  unknown  to  the 
world. 

Finally. — Considered  as  a  Christian,  "  the  highest  style  of 
man,"  I  need  add  nothing  to  the  narrative  already  given. 
His  soul-searching  experience,  his  prayers  and  fastings,  his 
conscientiousness  and  stern  integrity,  his  self-denial,  his  stead- 
fast faith  on  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  his  abhorrence  of 
sin,  his  desires  and  endeavors  after  holiness,  and  habitual 
aim  to  glorify  God,  gave  "  lucid  proof"  of  sincere  piety  while 
he  lived,  which  was  confirmed  in  his  death. 

His  health  began  seriously  to  decline  last  winter.  A  jour- 
ney to  the  East  during  the  summer  proved  unprofitable,  and 
he  returned  home  to  die  in  the  bosom  of  his  family.  He 
looked  forward  to  the  hour  of  his  death  without  dread.  Still 
he  clung  to  life ;  and  although  with  regard  to  himself  he  had 
no  fears,  and  could  say,  "  to  be  with  Christ  is  best ;"  yet 
when  he  looked  around  on  his  wife  and  little  children,  and 
the  prospect  of  leaving  them  exposed  and  unprotected  in  such 
a  world  as  this,  he  greatly  desired  to  live.  At  length,  how- 
ever, he  was  enabled  with  sweet  acquiescence  to  commit  the 
precious  charge  to  Him  who  said,  "  Leave  thy  fatherless  chil- 
dren ;  I  will  preserve  them  j  and  let  thy  widows  trust  in  me." 

His  old  enemy  did  not  fail  to  assail  him  in  his  weak  state, 
and  when  near  the  close  of  his  life,  with  doubts  as  to  the  founda- 
tion of  his  hope.  These,  however,  were  soon  dispelled,  and 
he  afterwards  enjoyed  uninterrupted  calmness  to  the  last. 
A  few  days  before  his  release  he  spoke  of  his  departure  with 
great  composure  and  confidence.  When  the  weather  per- 
mitted, he  was  usually  taken  out  in  a  carriage.     On  return- 


872  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COLLEGE. 

ing,  a  clay  or  two  before  Lis  death,  he  said  that  was  his  last 
ride  :  in  his  next  remove  he  "  would  be  carried  by  angels  into 
Abraham's  bosom."  On  the  15th  of  December,  in  the  thirty- 
ninth  year  of  his  age,  he  died  without  a  struggle,  and  "  sweetly 
fell  asleep  in  Jesus."  He  has  left  behind  a  venerable  father 
and  beloved  brothers  and  sisters  to  mourn — but  the}'  ought 
not  to  mourn  as  those  who  have  no  hope.  He  has  left  a 
beloved  wife  and  five  young  children  ;  but  the  God  of  the 
widow  and  the  fatherless,  to  whom  they  have  been  committed 
in  faith,  will  provide  for  them.  The  legacy  of  their  father's 
pious  example,  his  counsels  and  his  prayers,  is  of  more  value 
to  his  children  than  all  the  treasures  of  the  world. 


APPENDIX 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE. 

After  this  work  was  placed  in  the  hand  of  the  printer,  a 
very  interesting  document,  containing  a  careful  and  elaborate 
inquiry  respecting  the  first  movements  in  the  cause  of  classical 
and  scientific  education  west  of  the  mountains,  was  sent  to  us 
by  its  highly  respected  author,  Prof.  Robert  Patterson,  of 
Oakland  College,  Mississippi.  We  doubt  not  that  it  will  fully 
meet  the  wishes  of  those  who  still  adopt  the  current  traditions 
on  this  subject,  and  who  have  felt  aggrieved  that  any  attempt 
has  ever  been  made  to  call  them  in  question.  After  the 
reader  has  bestowed  upon  it  a  careful  perusal,  we  respectfully 
ask  him  to  hear  what  we  shall  submit  in  reply. 


WHERE    WAS    THE    FIRST    LITERARY    INSTITUTION    WEST 
OE   THE   MOUNTAINS? 

Not  four  score  years  hare  yet  elapsed  since  the  first  humble  hall  of  learn- 
ing was  erected  in  the  great  Western  Valley,  and  already  has  it  become  a 
subject  of  dispute,  what  spot  is  entitled  to  the  honor  of  being  regarded  as  its 
site  ?  The  fact  itself  is  a  forcible  exemplification  of  the  facility  with  which 
the  Present  forgets  its  obligations  to  the  Past. 

Three  institutions  only  have  been  named,  so  far  as  the  writer  is  aware,  as 
competitors  for  this  honor :  established,  respectively,  by  Rev.  Joseph  Smith, 
of  Buffalo ;  by  Rev.  Thaddeus  Dodd,  of  Ten  Mile ;  and  by  Rev.  ■  John 
M'Millan,  D.  D.,  of  Chartiers — all  three  congregations  in  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania. 

1st.  The  first  of  these,  that  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Smith,  was  undeniably  in 
existence  in  1785,  as  appears  from  a  memorandum  of  Rev.  Joseph  Patterson, 
"  Old  Redstone,"  page  81,  and  probably  continued  until  1787  or  1788.  There 
is  no  evidence  that  it  was  in  existence  either  anterior  or  subsequent  to  the 
period  named.  Neither  has  any  direct  ovidence  been  brought  to  the  notice 
of  the  writer,  to  establish  the  fact  that  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages  were 
taught  at  all  in  this  institution.     The  object  of  Mr.  Smith  appears  to  have 

32  (373) 


374  APPENDIX. 

» 

been  mainly,  if  not  exclusively,  to  furnish  a  theological  education.  Such  is 
the  opinion  expressed  in  a  letter  to  the  writer,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Jacob  LindlejT, 
who  was  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  Smith's  pupils,  and  a  school-mate  of  some 
of  them  at  Rev.  Mr.  Dodd's  school ;  who  states  that  he  never  heard  Mr. 
Smith's  school  spoken  of  as  a  classical  school.  A  similar  opinion  was 
expressed  to  the  writer  by  Mrs.  Harper  and  Mr.  John  M'Millan,  children  of 
Rev.  John  M'Millan,  D.  D.,  who  had  frequently  heard  their  father  and  others 
speak  of  Rev.  Mr.  Dodd's  as  a  classical  school,  but  never  of  Mr.  Smith's 
as  such. 

This  minor  point  may  perhaps  have  no  relevancy  to  the  question  more 
immediately  under  examination,  and  indeed  this  character  of  Mr.  Smith's 
school  seems  to  be  admitted  on  page  146  "  Old  Redstone ;"  as  also  in  the 
same  paragraph  the  priority  of  Mr.  Dodd's  school  to  Mr.  Smith's  is  distinctly 
conceded.  If  this  view  be  correct,  the  question  will  be  narrowed  down  to 
the  consideration  of  the  rival  claims  of  the  seminaries  of  Mr.  Dodd  and  of 
Mr.  M'Millan. 

2d.  It  is  stated,  "  Old  Redstone,"  page  145,  that  the  building  occupied  by 
Mr.  Dodd  as  an  academy  was  erected  in  1781,  and  (page  146)  that  "  here, 
in  1782,  began  the  first  classical  and  scientific  school  in  the  West." 

In  this  connection  may  be  introduced  the  following  extract  from  the  letter 
already  referred  to  from  Rev.  Dr.  Jacob  Lindley,  dated  June  2d,  1854 : 

"My  parents,  when  I  was  eight  years  of  age,  imbibed  the  notion  that  I 
was  pious,  and  sent  me  to  the  school  of  the  prophets,  which  was  kept  in  a 
largo  log  house  erected  for  the  purpose,  some  fifty  steps  from  Mr.  Dodd's 
dwelling.  It  was  sufficiently  large  for  three  or  four  beds,  with  room  for 
tables,  &c.  I  was  sent  there  to  live  with  Mr.  Dodd  and  to  study  Latin,  in 
A.  D.  17S2,  and  remained  there  till  1784.  The  Latin  students  then  with  Mr. 
Dodd,  were  James  Hughs,  John  Brice,  Robert  Marshall,  Francis  Dunlavy, 
John  Hannah,  Daniel  Lindley,  David  Smith,  (father  of  Rev.  Joseph  Smith, 
D.  D.,)  Robert  Marshall,  Jr.,  (son  of  Col.  James  Marshall,  of  Buffalo,)  and 
Jacob  Lindley.  Mathematical  students,  Daniel  McFarland,  Joseph  Eddy, 
Thomas  Stokely,  and  Thomas  Gormly.  All  boarded  with  Mr.  Dodd.  Others 
were  there  for  short  seasons  and  left.  Mr.  Dodd  never  taught  a  common 
English  school  in  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Joseph  Smith's  school  was  a  theologi- 
cal school,  as  I  always  understood  from  the  young  men  above  named,  the 
most  of  whom  were  members  of  Mr.  Smith's  church.  I  certainly  never 
heard  of  a  Latin  school  of  Mr.  Smith's. 

"  Hi  the  latter  part  of  17S5,  as  I  think,  Mr.  Dodd  sold  the  farm  where  his 
school  was,  and  moved  into  his  lower  congregation.  I  suppose  Mr.  Dodd's 
Latin  students  went  and  studied  theology  under  Mr.  Smith,  viz :  Hughs, 
Marshall,  Hannah,  David  Smith,  and  perhaps  Dunlavy.  Mr.  Joseph  Patter- 
son studied  theology  partly  under  Mr.  M'Millan,  and  partly  under  Mr. 
Smith.     He  never  studied  Latin  or  Greek. 

"  At  the  time,  a  little  before  or  a  little  after,  Mr.  Dodd's  school  broke  up, 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE.       375 

Mr.  M'Millan  took  in  a  number  of  students  for  the  ministry.     I  do  not  per- 
sonally know  so  muck  about  them. 

•'  From  the  time  I  was  eight  years  old,  no  amusement  could  divert  my 
attention  from  the  conversation  of  my  father  and  the  ministers,  when  on  the 
subject  of  religion  and  ministerial  education.  All  is  in  memory,  as  nails 
driven  in  a  sure  place.     But  to  proceed. 

"  I  have  said  Mr.  M'Millan's  classical  school  succeeded  that  of  Mr.  Dodd. 
Some  time  in  December,  1785,  by  the  united  influence  of  the  members  of 
Redstone  Presbytery,  a  charter  was  procured  for  an  academy  in  Washington, 
with  a  donation  of  5,000  acres  of  land.  Of  the  Trustees  appointed,  were 
Rev.  Messrs.  M'Millan,  Dodd,  Smith  and  Clark,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
Rev.  Matthew  Henderson,  of  the  Secession,  and  John  Corbley,  of  the  Bap- 
tist Church:  also,  Judges  Edgar,  McDowell,  Allison,  <fcc,  <fcc.  Messrs.  Dodd, 
Smith  and  M'Millan  were  the  movers  in  the  plan.  From  the  time  of  that 
charter,  Mr.  M'Millan  and  others  set  head  and  shoulders  to  build  up  a  semi- 
nary in  Washington.  A  unanimous  appointment  was  made  of  Mr.  Dodd  to 
commence  literary  operations  there.  As  there  was  no  house  built  for  the 
purpose,  the  commissioners  offered  the  court-house  to  teach  in.  Mr.  Dodd 
would  consent  to  leave  his  congregations  but  for  one  year;  and  then  some 
other  one  whom  the  Trustees  might  provide,  was  to  take  his  place.  This 
being  agreed  upon,  Mr.  Dodd  entered  on  his  appointment  on  the  1st  of 
April,  1789.  At  the  end  of  the  year,  as  the  Trustees  had  not  yet  succeeded 
in  obtaining  another  teacher,  Mr.  Dodd  remained  three  months  longer.  Mr. 
David  Johnston  succeeded  Mr.  Dodd.  In  the  winter,  after  Mr.  Johnston 
took  charge  of  the  academy,  the  court-house  was  burned  down,  and  Mr. 
Johnston  was  taken  to  Canonsburg.  The  inhabitants  of  Washington,  at  that 
time,  had  but  little  piety,  science  or  liberality  to  build  a  house  or  sustain  a 
literary  institution,  and  none  to  sustain  a  preacher.  Through  the  perseve- 
rance of  Mr.  M'Millan,  and  the  liberality  of  Col.  Canon,  a  lot  was  given, 
moneys  advanced,  and  Canonsburg  Academy  was  built  in  short  order.  Dr. 
M'Millan  turned  his  scholars  into  it;  some  of  Mr.  Johnston's  came  from 
Washington  ;  some  from  Pittsburgh,  and  other  places,  and  Canonsburg  was 
respected  as  the  literary  depot  of  the  West.  It  was  with  no  small  reluctance 
that  Dr.  M'Millan  withdrew  his  patronage  from  Washington  ;  but  when  com- 
pelled to  do  this,  he  turned  his  gigantic  might  to  Canonsburg.  He  ought 
to  be  considered  as  the  God-father — the  Almus  Pater  of  Jefferson  College." 
It  would  appear  from  the  account  above  given  that  Mr.  Dodd's  school  was 
commenced  in  1782,  continued  till  1785,  and  then  closed  upon  his  change  of 
residence ;  nor  is  there  any  evidence  that  it  was  ever  resumed.  No  one  has 
contended  that  the  election  of  Mr.  Dodd,  nearly  four  years  afterwards,  to 
the  post  of  Principal  of  the  Washington  Academy,  as  being  at  the  time  the 
most  available  man  for  that  position,  and  with  a  distinct  stipulation  on  his 
part  that  the  appointment  was  only  temporary,  to  enable  the  Trustees  to 
*eeure  a  permanent  teacher, — there  being  also  no  transfer  of  a  school — in 


376  APPENDIX. 

any  wiso  constituted  that  academy  the  lineal  descendant  of  Mr.  Dodd's 
school ;  nor  is  it  easy  to  conceive  upon  what  principles  of  succession  any 
Buch  claim  of  connection  could  be  maintained.  If  it  ho  affirmed  that  the 
teacher  constitutes  the  school,  then  Mr.  Dodd's  mantle,  which  must  have 
descended  upon  his  successor,  Mr.  David  Johnston,  was  hy  him  transferred 
to  the  Canonshurg  Academy  in  1791. 

It  is  proper  to  remark  that  the  account  given  by  Rev.  Dr.  Lindley  of  the 
closo  of  Mr.  Dodd's  connection  with  the  Washington  Academy  differs  from 
the  one  given  in  "  Old  Itedstone,"  page  147 ;  inasmuch  as  Mr.  Dodd's  return 
to  Ten  Mile  seems  to  have  preceded  the  destruction  of  the  court-house  by 
fire,  and  not  to  have  been  a  consequence  of  that  catastrophe.  Dr.  Lindley, 
as  Dr.  M'Millan  had  done  many  years  before,  assigns  for  the  temporary  sus- 
pension of  the  Washington  Academy,  and  the  location  of  a  similar  institu- 
tion in  Canonshurg,  another  cause  than  the  conflagration  of  the  court- 
house. 

The  result  of  our  incptiries  thus  far  appears  to  be  that  Mr.  Dodd's  school 
was  commenced  in  1782,  was  continued  till  1785,  and  then  closed;  that  Mr. 
Smith's  school  was  commenced  in  1785,  was  continued  until  1787  or  1788, 
and  then  closod ;  and  that  the  Washington  Academy,  which  had  been  Uacor- 
porated  September  24th,  1787,  was  opened  in  1789,  closed  temporarily  in 
1791,  and  its  teacher  transferred  to  the  Canonshurg  Academy.  It  only 
remains  to  investigate  tho  claims  to  priority  of  the  school  taught  by  Rev. 
Dr.  M'Millan. 

3d.  Bofore  introducing  any  evidence  in  regard  to  the  last-named  institu- 
tion, it  may  bo  proper  to  apprise  the  general  reader  that  the  prevailing  opinion 
in  tho  neighborhood  of  the  school  itself  and  at  Jefferson  College,  so  far  back 
as  tho  writer  has  been  able  to  trace  it,  has  been  that,  about  the  year  17S0, 
Rev.  Dr.  M'Millan  commenced  a  classical  school  at  or  near  his  residence ; 
that  he  was  then,  or  soon  thereafter,  assisted  in  conducting  tho  samo  by  Hon. 
James  Ross,  then  a  young  man,  afterwards,  during  the  administration  of 
Gen.  Washington,  a  distinguished  Senator  of  the  United  States;  that  with 
perhaps  some  intermissions  tho  school  continued  until  it  was  merged  in  tho 
Canonshurg  Academy,  in  1791.  Moro  recently,  three  opinions  have  been 
broached :  1st.  That  Dr.  M'Millan's  school  was  not  commenced  till  after 
17S5,  upon  the  disruption  of  Mr.  Dodd's  school;  2d.  Perhaps  not  until  1788, 
upon  the  discontinuance  of  Mr.  Smith's  school;  3d.  That  if  there  was  a 
school  at  Dr.  M'Millan's,  taught  eitlnr  by  himself  or  by  James  Ross,  prior 
to  1785,  it  was  only  an  English,  and  in  no  sense  a  classical  one.  The  sub- 
stantiation of  any  one  of  these  hypotheses  would  establish  the  priority  of 
the  classical  school  at  Ten  Mile.  They  may  therefore  be  classed  under  o^i 
general  head,  and  tho  evidence  for  and  against  them  respectively  bo  consi 
erod  together. 

In  support  of  those  more  recent  opinions,  in  regard  to  Dr.  M'Millan 
school,  may  be  adduced — 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE.       377 

1st.  The  evidence  of  Rev.  Dr.  Jacob  Lindley,  who  states,  in  the  extracts 
quoted  above,  that  Dr.  M'Millan's  school  succeeded  that  of  Mr.  Dodd. 

2d.  The  impressions  of  Rev.  Dr.  James  Carnahan,  as  contained  in  a  letter 
to  the  writer,  dated  June  3d,  1854,  of  which  the  following  extract  contains 
all  that  is  relevant  to  the  present  point : 

"  I  have  no  personal  knowledge  of  Dr.  M'Millan's  school  in  the  'Log- 
Cabin.'  All  I  know  is  from  reports  heard  when  I  was  at  school  at  Canons- 
burg.  Part  of  the  time  I  boarded  at  the  same  house  (Patrick  Scott's)  with  a 
young  man  who  had  lived  for  several  years  in  Dr.  M'Millan's  family,  and 
managed  his  farming  operations.  This  man's  name  was  Wilkins.  He  was 
from  the  same  neighborhood  east  of  the  mountains  with  Dr.  M'Millan. 
When  I  knew  Mr.  Wilkins,  although  above  thirty  years  old,  ho  was  learning 
Latin  with  a  view  to  the  gospel  ministry.  As  his  progress  was  slow,  he  gave 
up  his  books  and  resumed  his  former  occupation. 

"  The  statement  of  this  man  respecting  the  Hon.  James  Ross,  who  taught 
school  in  the  log-cabin,  was,  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  pious  widow  lady  in 
moderate  circumstances,  in  the  placo  of  Dr.  M'Millan's  nativity ;  that  her 
early  wish  and  prayer  was  that  her  son  should  become  a  minister  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  that  she  sent  him  to  a  grammar  school ;  that  when  he  had  made  con- 
adorable  proficiency  in  Latin  and  Greek,  and  was  nearly  of  age,  with  the 
idvice  and  consent  of  his  mother,  he  crossed  the  mountains  and  directed  his 
steps  to  Dr.  M'Millan's.  As  there  was  no  school  in  the  neighborhood,  Mr. 
M'Millan  built  a  small  log-cabin  near  his  residence,  and  engaged  Mr.  Ross 
to  teach  his  own  and  his  neighbor's  children,  while  at  the  same  time  Mr. 
Ross  continued  his  studies  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  mathematics,  under  the 
direction  of  Mr.  M'Millan.  From  the  statements  of  Wilkins,  the  impression 
made  in  my  mind  was  that  Mr.  Ross  taught  an  English  school.  I  have  no 
recollection  that  Wilkins  named  James  Hughs,  John  Brice,  Robert  Marshall, 
and  others,  as  learning  Latin  or  Greek  with  Mr.  M'Millan.  Some  of  them, 
and  Samuel  Porter,  were  spoken  of  as  reading  theology  under  the  direction 
of  Dr.  M'Millan. 

"  My  friend,  the  late  Dr.  M.  Brown,  has  given  another  version  of  the  school 
taught  by  Mr.  Ross.  He  speaks  of  James  Ross  as  an  accomplished  Latin 
and  Greek  scholar,  and  as  having  taught  these  languages  in  the  '  Log-Cabin.' 
During  my  residence  at  Canonsburg  from  1793  to  1798,  I  never  heard  Mr. 
James  Ross  spoken  of  as  an  accomplished  classical  scholar.  As  a  man  of 
uncommon  talent,  an  eminent  lawyer  and  an  eloquent  advocate,  he  was 
highly  and  justly  celebrated.  This  reputation  ho  had  obtained  before  1793. 
This  fact  renders  it  probable  that  he  taught  in  the  'Log-Cabin'  before  1785. 
Yet  I  have  no  means  of  fixing  the  precise  date.  Dr.  Brown  may  have  had 
good  authority  for  stating  that  James  Ross  taught  the  first  Latin  school  west 
of  the  mountains.  My  impressions  to  the  contrary  were  received  from  Mr. 
Wilkins,  and'while  at  Canonsburg  I  never  heard  a  different  statement.  Your 
father  is  perhaps  the  best  living  witness  in  regard  to  the  origin  of  Latin 

32* 


878  APPENDIX. 

schools  west  of  the  mountains.  lie  had  nearly  finished  his  Latin  and  Greek 
studies  when  I  went  to  Canonsburg,  and  went,  I  think  in  the  autumn  of  1791, 
to  the  University  of  Pennsylvania." 

3d.  The  fact,  as  stated  in  "  Old  Redstone,"  pago  77,  that  "the  records  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Redstono  show  that  there  were  no  licentiates  under  their 
i'miv,  who  had  received  their  previous  scholastic  or  theological  training  from 
Dr.  M'Millan,"  till  after  the  discontinuance  of  Mr.  Smith's  school,  "and 
thai  all  the  first  ministers  had  received  their  instruction  either  from  Mr. 
Dodd  or  Mr.  Smith."  Further,  that  if  thore  was  such  a  school  atDr.  M'Mil- 
lan's,  prior  to  17S.r>,  in  which  young  men  were  instructed  in  languages  and 
sciences,  it  is  strange  that  "not  one  of  them  can  now  be  found,  and  there  is 
no  mention  of  such  in  tho  minutes  of  the  Presbytery." 

4th.  The  evidence  of  Mrs.  Irwin,  ("  Old  Redstone,"  page  77,)  an  aged  lady, 
now  residing  near  Marysville,  ( >hio,  who  «  as  between  tweh  e  and  fifteen  j  ears 
of  age,  and  resided  near  Mr.  Smith,  during  the  coutinuanco  of  his  school. 
Mrs.  Irwin  states  "that in  17S5  Mr.  Smith  opened  a  school  for  assisting  and 
training  young  men  for  the  gospel  ministry  ;  that  this  was  the  first  movement 
made  for  preparing  young  men  for  the  ministry;  that  there  was  no  such 
school  at  this  time  at  Chnrtiers,  nor  until  after  the  one  at  Buffalo  was  discon- 
tinued :  that  Mr.  McGready  came  to  the  school  from  Dr.  M'Millan's,  with 
whom  ho  had  been  living,  not  as  a  student,  but  as  a  laborer  on  his  farm." 

5th.  The  evidence  ("  Old  Redstono,"  page  78,)  of  Rev.  Dr.  Cephas  Dodd, 
of  Amity,  Pennsylvania,  son  of  Rev.  Thaddeus  Dodd,  who  states  that  "  there 
was  an  agreement  made  between  .Mr.  Smith  and  Mr.  Dodd,  by  which  they 
engaged  alternately  to  superintend  the  education  of  certain  young  men  who 
hail  the  ministry  in  view,"  and  of  this  number  that  "  Messrs.  James  Hughs, 
John  Brice,  Robert  Marshall,  John  Hanna  and  David  Smith,  were  with  .Mr. 
Dodd  from  about  1783  to  1786,  and  for  tho  remainder  of  the  time  with  Mr. 
Smith,"  but  "were  never  under  the  tuition  of  J >r.  M'Millan  ;"  and  that 
"others,  as  Messrs.  Patterson,  McGready,  and  Porter,  were  instructed  solely 
by  Mr.  Smith." 

6tti.  The  letter  of  Dr.  M'Millan  to  Dr.  Carnahan,  dated  March  26th,  1S32, 
("Old  Redstone,"  pago  79.)  in  which  he  enumerates  Messrs.  Patterson, 
Hughs,  Brice,  McGready,  Swan,  Porter,  Marquis,  and  McPherrin,  as  all  of 
the  second  sot  of  ministers,  who  were  raised  up  in  this  country  :  whioh  enu- 
meration, taken  in  connection  with  what  is  above  stated,  has  been  considered 
as  corroborative  testimony. 

7th.  Tho  authority  of  an  original  manuscript  of  Dr.  M'Millan  in  thepos-" 
ion  of  tho  author  of  "  Old  Redstone,"  (see page  192,)  in  which  the  Doctor 
mentions  Messrs.  Hughs,  Brice,  McGready  and  Porter,  "as  his  first  sohol 
' — and  as  part  of  the  material  with  which  his  school  began:  showing  that 
"this  school,  which  Dr.  M'Millan  collected,  consisting  of  these  young  men. 
as  ho  oxprossly  states,  could  not  possibly  have  begun  until  after  1 1  85,"  inas- 
much as  they  had  been  with  either  Mr.  Dodd  or  Mr.  Smith  before  that  time. 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE.  379 

8th.  A  memorandum  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Patterson,  cited  in  "Old  Red- 
stone," page  81,  to  the  following  purport:  "Id  the  fall  of  1785,  being 
thirty-three  years  old,  it  was  thought  best,  with  the  advice  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Redstone,  that  I  should  endeavor  to  prepare  for  the  gospel  ministry. 
There  being  no  places  of  public  education  in  this  country,  I,  with  a  tow 
others,  studied  with  the  Rev.  Joseph  Smith,  of  Buffalo  congregation,  Wash- 
ington county,  Pennsylvania." 

9th.  An  extract  from  the  letter  of  Rev.  Robert  Patterson  to  Rev.  Dr.  M. 
Brown,  October  1st,  1846,  as  follows,  ("  Old  Redstone,"  page  81.)  "Between 
17S0  and  1790,  and  chiefly  in  the  latter  part  of  these  ten  years,  some  of  the 
few  Presbyterian  clergymen  living  west  of  the  mountains  in  Pennsylvania, 
were  in  the  habit  of  giving  instruction  in  the  languages  and  sciences  to 
young  men,  whose  object  in  their  studies  was  the  gospel  ministry.  The  Rev. 
Messrs.  Joseph  Smith  and  John  M'Millan  were  distinguished  in  their  devo- 
tion to  this  cause,"  &c,  etc. 

The  above  enumeration  exhausts  the  arguments,  so  far  as  they  have  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  writer,  which  would  tend  to  show  that  Dr.  M'Mil- 
lan's  was  not  the  first  classical  and  scientific  school  in  the  West,  if  a  classi- 
cal school  at  all.  It  may  perhaps  be  well  before  advancing  any  reasons  for 
an  opposite  opinion  to  review  the  foregoing  as  briefly  as  possible,  and  endeavor 
to  ascertain  how  much  there  is  of  direct  and  positive  testimony  in  all  that 
has  been  adduced. 

In  the  first  place,  the  evidence  of  Rev.  Dr.  Lindley  is  perhaps  the  strongest 
and  most  direct.  lie  is  positive  in  regard  to  the  clearness  of  his  recollection 
since  his  eighth  year,  or  since  1782,  and  affirms  that  Mr.  M'Millan  took  in  a 
number  of  students  for  the  ministry  about  the  time  that  Mr.  Dodd's  school 
closed:  but  adds  that  he  has  little  personal  knowledge  in  regard  to  them  ; 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  he  makes  no  profession  of  any  personal  knowledge 
or  recollection  of  events  prior  to  17S2.  There  does  not  appear  thereforo  to 
be  any  necessary  conflict  between  this  statement  and  the  fact,  if  such  fact  be 
hereafter  made  to  appear,  that  Dr.  M'Millan's  school  was  established  before 
that  time.  There  may  have  been  intermissions  in  Dr.  M'Millan's  school; 
and  that  portion  of  its  existence  of  which  Dr.  Lindley  had  some  personal 
knowledge,  was  subsequent  to,  or  coincident  with  the  close  of  Mr.  Dodd's 
institution.  To  represent  Dr.  Lindley  as  affirming  positively  that  Dr.  M'Mil- 
lan's school  had  no  existence  whatever  at  any  time  prior  to  1785,  would  not 
only  bo  subjecting  his  language  emoted  above  to  a  most  violent  and  arbitrary 
construction,  but  would  be  representing  him  as  affirming  that  to  bo  true  of 
which  he  denies  any  special  personal  knowledge,  and  for  the  contrary  of 
which  explicit  testimony  will  be  hereafter  adduced  on  the  part  of  those  who 
enjoyed  better  opportunities  for  acquiring  information.  If  this  view  of  the 
case  be  not  correct,  it  only  remains  lor  the  reader  to  reconcile,  on  some  other 
hypothesis,  the  reminiscences  of  Dr.  Lindley  with  those  of  other  equally 
competent  witnesses,  to  be  noticed  hereafter. 


880  APPENDIX. 

In  the  second  place,  the  evidence  of  Rev.  Dr.  Carnahan  is  professedly  of 
a  derivative  character.  Mr.  Wilkins,  tho  source  of  Dr.  Carnahan's  impres- 
sions, had  been  a  laborer  upon  Dr.  M'Millan's  farm  ;  but  it  does  not  appeal 
at  what  time,  nor  what  opportunities  he  possessed  for  acquiring  information; 
facts  important  to  bo  known  before  wo  can  estimate  tho  proper  weight  of  his 
testimony.  Tho  period  to  which  our  attention  is  directed  was  some  ten  or 
fifteen  years  previous  to  the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Carnahan  with  Mr.  Wilkins; 
and  the  residence  of  the  latter  on  the  farm  of  Dr.  M'Millan  may  have  been 
long  subsequent  to  tho  departure  of  Mr.  Ross.  It  does  not  even  appear  that 
Mr.  Wilkins  affirmed  that  either  Mr.  Ross  or  Dr.  M'Millan  did  not  teach  tho 
languages;  but  only  that  such  was  the  impression  produced  on  the  mind  of 
Dr.  Carnahan  from  tho  statements  made.  That  this  impression  may  have 
been  erroneous,  or  the  author  of  it  mistaken,  no  one,  upon  proper  evidence, 
would  more  readily  admit  than  the  venerable  Dr.  Carnahan  himself. 

A  doubt  seems  to  be  expressed  as  to  the  character  of  Dr.  M'Millan's  school, 
whether  the  languages  were  taught  at  all;  but  this  question  is  set  at  rest  by 
the  published  letter  to  Dr.  Carnahan  himself  from  Dr.  M'Millan,  in  which  ho 
expressly  states  that  he  gave  instruction  in  Latin  and  Greek.  If  Mr.  Wilkins 
produced  an  erroneous  impression  in  this  particular,  he  may  havo  been 
equally  inaccurate  in  other  respects.  The  precise  proficiency  of  Mr.  Ross 
in  the  classics  is  a  side  issue,  not  immediately  relevant  to  tho  question  now 
under  consideration,  and  may  be  dismissed. 

In  tho  third  place,  the  records  of  the  Presbytery  of  Redstone  simply  show 
that  Messrs.  John  Brice  and  James  Hughs  were  roceived  on  trial,  as  candi- 
dates for  the  ministry,  August  15th,  17S6;  Messrs.  Joseph  Patterson  and 
James  McGready,  April  17th,  1787;  and  others,  in  like  manner,  at  subse- 
quent times.  The  records  in  no  instance  state  under  whoso  instruction  the 
candidates  respectively  were.  It  is  difficult  to  comprehend,  therefore,  in 
what  manner  those  records  of  themselves  can  be  made  to  throw  any  light 
upon  the  question  under  examination.  They  simply  show  tho  dates  at  which 
cortain  young  men  wero  received  as  candidates,  and  they  do  not  appear  to  show 
any  thing  more. 

If  it  bo  agreed  that  tho  silence  of  the  records  in  regard  to  any  candidates 
prior  to  August  15th,  1786,  proves  that  thero  could  havo  been  no  school  at 
Dr.  M'Millan's  for  such  candidates  before  that  time,  the  circumstance  proves 
too  much;  as  it  would  equally  follow  for  the  same  reason,  that  thero  could 
have  been  no  such  school  at  Mr.  Dodd's  prior  to  that  time  ;  which  would  bo 
contrary  to  the  admitted  fact.  And  if  this  mode  of  reasoning  is  therefore 
clearly  inapplicable  to  Mr.  Dodd's  school,  with  still  less  justice  can  it  bo 
applied  to  an  earlier  school,  whose  pupils,  like  thos;o  of  Mr.  Dodd,  wero  not 
sufficiently  advanced  in  their  studies  to  submit  themselves  to  an  examination 
by  Presbytery ;  more  especially  if  tho  opinion  be  correct,  that  Dr.  M'Millan's 
school  was  in  existence  for  more  than  a  j'ear  before  the  Presbytery  of  Red- 
stone was  organized. 


THE   ORIGIN    OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE.  381 

As  to  the  statement,  that  of  the  pupils  of  Dr.  M'Millan  prior  to  1785,  "not 
one  of  them  can  now  ho  found,"  evidence  will  be  submitted  presently  to 
show  who  a  number  of  them  were.  Were  it  impossible,  however,  after  the 
lapse  of  more  than  seventy  years,  now  to  designate  with  certainty  a  single 
pupil,  that  circumstanco  would  not  of  itself  be  conclusive  that  there  had  been 
no  such  school.  The  present  discussion  has  furnished  abundant  evidence  to 
show  how  rapidly  the  memory  of  persons  and  events  fades  from  the  minds 
of  men. 

In  the  fourth  place,  the  evidence  of  Mrs.  Irwin,  who  states  explicitly  that 
Mr.  Smith's  school,  in  1785,  was  "  the  first  movement  made  for  preparing 
young  men  for  the  ministry,"  is  directly  and  irreconcilably  in  conflict  with 
the  fact  that  such  a  movement  was  made  by  Mr.  Dodd  three  years  before; 
and  accordingly  the  author  of  "  Old  Redstone"  has  very  handsomely  (page 
140 j  abandoned  the  false  position  which  this  testimony  of  Mrs.  Irwin  had 
led  him  to  assume.  Her  statement  that  "  there  was  no  such  school  at  Char- 
tiers  until  the  one  at  Buffalo  was  discontinued,"  is  at  variance  with  the  tes- 
timony of  Rev.  Dr.  Lindley,  cited  above,  who  states  that  Dr.  M'Millan's 
school  was  in  existence  "  at  the  time  when  Mr.  Dodd's  broke  up,  a  little 
before,  or  a  little  after."  Her  testimony  in  regard  to  Mr.  McGready,  that  ho 
had  been  living  with  Dr.  M'Millan,  and  that,  too,  as  a  laborer,  and  not  as 
a  student,  is  pointedly  contradicted  by  the  testimony  of  Mrs.  Harper,  the 
oldest  child  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  who  stated  to  the  writer  that  Mr.  McGready, 
whom  she  well  remembers,  lived  with  Judge  M'Dowell,  but  studied  Latin 
with  her  father,  and  taught  an  English  school  for  him,  which  school  Mrs. 
Harper  herself  attended,  having  learned  to  read  from  Mr.  McGready  ,•  and 
that  he  never  worked  as  a  laborer  for  her  father,  unless  in  kindly  giving  his 
assistance  in  attending  to  the  stock  during  her  father's  occasional  absence. 
Mrs.  Irwin's  testimony  in  the  same  particular  is  contradicted  by  the  evidenco 
of  Mrs.  Park,  the  daughter  of  Judge  M'Dowell,  who,  without  any  knowledge 
of  Mrs.  Harper's  testimony,  stated  to  the  writer  that  she  distinctly  remem- 
bered Mr.  McGready  as  living  at  her  father's,  studying  Latin  there,  and 
going  to  Dr.  M'Millan's  to  recite.  It  is  equally  at  variance,  in  this  particu- 
lar, with  the  recollection  of  Rev.  Dr.  Cephas  Dodd,  who  is  also  strongly  of 
the  impression,  as  he  states  in  a  letter  to  the  writer,  that  Mr.  McGready  was 
a  student  of  Dr.  M'Millan's,  though  he  has  inadvertently  expressed  himself 
to  the  contrary  in  "  Old  Redstone,"  page  79 — a  very  pardonable  inaccuracy, 
which  yet  occasioned  no  little  uneasiness  to  Dr.  Dodd.  It  is  also  worthy  of 
remark,  in  the  same  connection,  that  in  about  eighteen  months  after  Mr. 
Smith's  school  commenced,  Mi-.  McGready,  whose  name  does  not  appear  on 
any  list  of  Mr.  Dodd's  pupils,  and  who,  according  to  Mrs.  Irwin's  testimony, 
had  been  heretofore  a  farm-laborer,  presented  himself  to  the  Presbytery  as  a 
candidate  for  the  ministry,  ("Old  Redstone,"  page  350,)  was  examined  in 
logic,  moral  philosophy,  Latin  and  Greek, — his  examinations  all  sustained, — 
and  an  exegesis  assigned  for  the  next  meeting — "  An  sit  concuisua  Dei  cum 


382  APPENDIX. 

omnibus  hominum  actionibus?" — and  all  these  attainments,  we  are  asked  to 
believe,  were  made  in  less  time,  after  the  student  left  the  piough,  than  would 
be  requisite  to  qualify  him,  oven  with  diligent  ^tudy,  for  admission  to  the 
Freshman  class  of  any  respectable  college  at  the  present  day.  In  fact  Mr. 
McGready  was  licensed  in  about  fifteen  months  afterwards.  One  of  three 
things  will  be  readily  admitted  :  either  that  the  standard  of  classical  attain- 
ment in  the  Presbytery  of  Redstone  was  not  of  a  very  exalted  character,  or 
that  Mr.  McGready  acquired  knowledge  with  a  facility  which  does  not  often 
fall  to  the  lot  of  men  ;  or  that  Mrs.  Irwin  must  have  been  mistaken  in  affirm- 
ing that  ho  had  not  been  a  student  with  Dr.  M'Millan.  Nor  could  it  fail  to 
be  matter  of  surprise,  were  it  indeed  true,  that  Dr.  M'Millan  had  permitted 
a  young  man  of  undoubted  piety  and  talent,  brought  from  North  Carolina 
and  placed  under  his  care  expressly  to  be  fitted  for  the  ministerial  office,  in 
which  his  labors  wero  afterwards  so  abundantly  blessed,  to  remain  for  years 
without  instruction,  engaged  in  the  menial  labors  of  his  farm. 

But  it  is  perhaps  a  waste  of  words  to  discuss  the  credibility  of  this  testi- 
mony any  further,  since  the  author  of  "  Old  Redstone"  has  himself  so  entirely 
set  it  aside,  when  it  came  in  conflict  with  the  obstinate  fact  of  the  existence 
of  Mr.  Dodd's  school;  and  if  that  fact  had  passed  from  Mrs.  Irwin's  memory, 
still  more  easily  might  the  rocollection  of  a  yet  earlier  school  escape,  if  she 
were  even  aware  of  events  that  are  believed  to  have  occurred  at  a  time  when 
she  was,  according  to  her  own  showing,  about  five  years  of  age,  and  at  a 
place  from  which  she  was  some  ten  or  fifteen  miles  distant.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
say  that  no  one  will  for  a  moment  suppose  that  Mrs.  Irwin  would  willfully 
misstate  facts  of  which  she  had  either  personal  or  indirect  knowledge;  but  it 
is  impossible  to  escape  the  conclusion  that  either  she,  or  others  who  have 
been  named,  must  have  failed  in  their  recollections ;  and  to  which  side  tho 
balance  of  probability  inclines,  the  reader  will  decide  for  himself. 

Li  the  fifth  place,  it  will  be  seen  on  examination  of  the  evidence  of  Rev. 
Dr.  Dodd,  that  he  simply  mentions  the  names  of  certain  persons  who  were 
nut  pupils  of  Rev.  Dr.  M'Millan,  which  is  not  at  all  inconsistent  with  the 
fact,  if  it  be  made  to  appear,  that  thero  were  other  persons  who  were  his 
pupils.  He  has  expressed  his  conviction,  as  remarked  above,  that  he  was 
in  error  in  regard  to  one  of  them;  and  it  is  probable,  as  will  hereafter 
appear,  that  he  was  also  in  error  in  regard  to  others.  It  is  due  to  Dr.  Dodd 
to  state  that  he  remarks  in  a  letter  to  the  writer,  dated  May  17th,  1S54,  that 
that  he  "was  too  young  and  too  far  distant  to  know  anything  personally  of 
Dr.  M'Millan's  school." 

In  tho  sixth  place,  in  his  published  letter  to  Dr.  Carnahan,  Dr.  M'Millan 
nowhere  states  who  were  his  first  pupils,  neithor  does  he  specify  who  were 
his  pupils  at  all,  nor  fix  the  year  in  which  his  school  commenced.  It  is  f 
matter  both  of  surprise  and  regret,  that  in  a  letter  so  full  of  dates,  he  shoulf 
have  omitted  the  one  most  interesting  of  all,  and  that  ho  did  not  by  a  stroke 
of  his  pen  set  the  question  now  under  discussion  at  rest  forever. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE.       383 

In  the  seventh  place,  if  the  "original  manuscript  of  Dr.  M'Millan"  is  one 
which  has  never  been  published,  it  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  author 
of  "  Old  Redstone"  has  not  given  it  to  the  world.  It  is  impossible  for  the 
public  to  form  any  intelligent  judgment  respecting  the  contents  of  a  docu- 
ment they  have  never  seen,  the  extracts  from  which  are  given  in  imperfect 
sentences  ;  and  this  is  all  that  can  be  said  of  it. 

If,  however,  the  document  in  question  is  a  transcript  of  the  letter  to  Dr. 
Carnahan,  referred  to  above,  as  the  similarity  of  the  phraseology  in  the 
extracts  ("  Old  Redstone,"  pages  79,  80,  and  192,)  would  seem  to  indicate, 
a  re-perusal  of  that  letter  cannot  fail  to  convince  our  candid  and  valued 
friend  that  he  has  possibly  misconceived  its  import.  In  one  part  of  his  let- 
ter, Dr.  M'Millan  states  that  he  had  collected  a  few  young  men,  whom  he 
taught  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages;  and  that  some  of  them  became 
useful,  and  others  eminent,  ministers  of  the  gospel.  In  another  part  of  his 
letter,  entirely  unconnected  with  the  former,  he  states  that  he  had  survived 
"  all  the  second  set  of  ministers  who  were  raised  in  this  country,"  and  enu- 
merates them.  Is  there  any  law  of  construction  by  which,  on  collating  these 
two  passages,  Dr.  M'Millan  can  be  made  to  affirm  that  these  ministers  were 
"  his  first  scholars  ?"  that  "his  school  begem  with  them?"  Where  does  he 
"expressly  state  that  his  school  consisted  of  these  young  men?"  And  what 
becomes  of  the  allegation  that  some  of  these  students  were  never  his  pupils 
at  all  ?  It  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  Dr.  M'Millan's  language  to  suppose 
that  one  or  two  of  the  persons  named  were  among  his  earlier  pupils,  though 
the  school  may  have  contained  a  number  of  students  who  never  bocame 
ministers ;  and  that  others  on  the  list  he  enumerates  may  have  been  his 
pupils  at  various  times  during  the  entire  progress  of  his  school.  This  is  a 
much  more  natural  and  probable  view  of  the  case  than  the  one  presented  by 
the  construction  which  has  been  placed  upon  those  passages,  if  this  be  indoed 
the  manuscript  referred  to,  and  does  not  conflict  with  positive  testimony  soon 
to  bo  considered. 

In  the  eighth  place,  the  force  of  Rev.  Joseph  Patterson's  memorandum 
(which  bears  date  Pittsburgh,  May  15th,  1822,)  depends  upon  the  meaning 
he  attached  to  the  term  "public  education."  It  is  probable  that  he  was 
comparing  the  humble  seminaries  of  the  time  of  which  he  wrote,  with  the 
moie  imposing  ones  of  the  time  at  which  he  was  writing.  He  could  not 
have  meant  that  there  were  not,  or  had  not  been,  other  private  schools  like 
that  of  Mr.  Smith,  which  he  was  attending ;  for  it  is  admitted  that  there  had 
been  one  at  Mr.  Dodd's;  there  may  therefore  have  been  another  at  Dr. 
M'Millan's. 

In  the  ninth  place,  the  extract  from  the  letter  of  Rev.  Robert  Patterson, 
appears  to  indicate  his  impression,  to  the  existence  of  which  the  writer  of 
this  can  also  testify,  that  the  educational  efforts  of  the  various  Presbyterian 
clergymen  west  of  the  mountains,  had  commenced  as  far  back  as  1780.  Now, 
the  school  of  Mr.  Smith  was  not  commenced  until  the  latter  part  of  1785 ; 


384  APPENDIX. 

and  that  of  Mr.  Dodd  was  commenced  in  17S2.     This  extinct  therefore  does 

not  preclude,  but  rather  favors  the  supposition  that  l>r.  M'Millan's  bc! 1 

was  prior  to  Mr.  Dodd's. 

If  the  patience  of  the  reader  has  not  been  already  exhausted,  he  is  invited 
to  examine  the  evidence  which  may  be  furnished  in  support  of  the  correct- 
ness of  the  more  commonly  received,  and,  until  recently,  the  undisputed 
opinion  that  Dr.  M'Millan's  was  the  first  Latin  school  in  the  West 

1st.  The  first  place  in  the  order  of  testimony  is  evidently  due  to  that  of 
Dr.  M'Millan  himself.  In  his  published  letter  to  Dr.  Camahan,  already 
more  than  once  referred  to,  (Pitts.  Chr.  Herald,  Dec.  1  1th.  1833,)  he  gives 
a  sketch  only  too  brief  of  his  life  and  times,  which  bears  every  appearance 
of  a  design  on  the  part  of  the  venerable  writer  to  relate  events  in  their 
regular  chronological  order.  Commencing  with  his  earliest  years,  and  he 
even  apologizes  afterwards  for  not  having  given  the  date  of  his  birth  "in 
tho  proper  place,"  he  traces  up  his  history  until  the  arrival  of  his  family  at 
Chartiers,  of  the  circumstances  attending  which  he  gives  a  rather  minute 
description.  The  mention  of  his  wife  in  this  connection  naturally  leads  him 
to  anticipate  his  narrative  so  far  as  to  give  the  date  of  her  death,  in  1819. 
He  then  resumes  his  history  in  the  following  manner: 

"When  1  had  determined  to  come  to  this  country,  Dr.  Smith-  enjoined 
it  upon  me  to  look  out  for  some  pious  young  men,  and  educate  them  for  the 
ministry;  for,  said  he,  though  some  men  of  piety  and  talent-  maj  go  to  a 
new  country  at  first,  yet  if  they  arc  not  careful  to  raise  up  others,  the  coun- 
try will  not  be  well  supplied.  Accordingly  I  collected  a  few  who  gave  evi- 
dence of  piety,  and  taught  them  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages.  Some  of 
them  became  useful,  and  others  eminent,  ministers  of  the  gospel.  I  had  still 
a  few  with  me  when  the  Academy  was  opened  in  Canonsburg,  and  finding 
that  I  could  not  teach  and  do  justice  to  my  congregation,  I  immediately 
gave  it  up  and  sent  them  there." 

The  Doctor  then  goes  on  with  every  appearance  of  adhering  to  the  regular 
succession  of  ovents  to  speak  of  the  first  remarkable  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit  in  his  congregation  as  occurring  in  December,  1781. 

Now,  in  tho  first  place,  the  order  in  which  Dr.  M'Millan  introduces  this 
portion  of  his  history,  furnishes  a  fair  presumption  that  he  is  speaking  of  a 
period  prior  to  December,  1781:  in  the  second  place,  the  phraseology  with 
which  he  commences  the  paragraph,  furnishes  an  equally  fair  presumption 
that  he  began  his  career  as  a  teacher  soon  after  "coming  to  this  country;" 
in  the  third  place,  with  what  propriety — not  to  say  with  what  truth  —  could 
he  affirm  that  ho  had  acted  "  aeeonling"  to  Dr.  Smith's  injunction,  if  he 
had  totally  neglected  it  for  ten  years  after  his  settlement  as  a  pastor  of 
Chartiers,  and  that,  too,  with  the  materials  for  such  a  school  in  his  im- 
mediate neighborhood,  nay,  as  we  are  told,  upon  his  own  farm  ?  —  and  in 

*  Of  Poquea. 


THE  ORIGIN  OP  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE.       385 

the  fourth  place,  why  should  he  say  that  there  were  "  still  a  few  with  him," 
if  his  school  had  heen  in  existence  for  the  comparatively  brief  period  we 
are  asked  to  believe  ?  If  all  this  be  only  a  presumption,  yet  it  is  so  strong 
that  it  cannot  well  be  set  aside,  unless  upon  the  suggestion  in  "  Old  Red- 
stone," page  80,  that  it  may  be  a  "lapsus  memorise  on  the  part  of  an 
octogenarian." 

Again,  in  a  report  presented  to  the  Trustees  of  Jefferson  College  in  1817, 
by  Dr.  Ramsey  and  Dr.  M'Millan,  and  which  appears  upon  the  minutes  of 
the  Board  in  the  handwriting  of  the  latter,  it  is  stated,  in  an  account  of  Dr. 
M'Millan 's  efforts  to  establish  the  academy  at  Canonsburg,  that  "A  house 
was  built  and  a  Latin  and  Greek  school,  which  he  had  kept  at  his  own 
house,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the  church  as  far  as  was  practicable, 
was  transferred  to  this  infant  academy,  the  original  fountain  of  science 
and  literature  in  these  western  counties."  Now  from  this  passage,  from 
Dr.  M'Millan's  own  pen,  it  is  an  inevitable  inference  that  in  his  opinion  the 
Canonsburg  Academy,  either  of  itself,  or  by  virtue  of  the  school  transferred 
to  it,  was  the  original  fountain,  &c.  It  could  not  have  been  the  former,  for 
the  Washington  Academy  had  been  in  existence  before  the  one  in  Canons- 
burg, and  long  before  the  date  of  this  report  (1817)  had  eventuated  in  a 
college ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  we  can  escape  the  latter  conclusion. 

But  a  still  more  explicit  statement  is  made  in  the  catalogue  of  Jefferson 
College,  published  in  July,  1833,  four  months  before  the  decease  of  Dr. 
MMillan  (November,  16th),  he  being  at  that  time  Vice-President  of  the 
college,  and  in  the  habit,  it  is  believed,  of  frequently  visiting  the  institu- 
tion. It  is  there  stated  that  "  Jefferson  College  was  chartered  by  the  State, 
and  regularly  organized  in  1802.  Prior  to  that  time  there  existed  an 
academy,  called  Canonsburg  Academy,  which  commenced  soon  after  the 
first  settlement  of  this  country.  This  was  the  first  literary  institution  wosfc 
of  the  mountains.  It  originated  in  a  small  log-cabin,  whero  the  first  Latin 
school  was  taught  by  the  Hon.  James  Ross,  of  Pittsburgh,  under  the 
patronage  and  direction  of  Rev.  Dr.  M'Millan." 

It  would  seem  highly  improbable  — indeed,  almost  impossible  —  that  this 
statement  could  have  been  put  forth  without  the  knowledge  of  Dr.  M'Millan, 
and  without  some  attempt  to  derive  from  himself  personally  the  facts  in 
I  regard  to  the  origin  and  character  of  his  school ;  or  that,  having  been  put 
forth,  it  should  remain  uncontradicted,  if  erroneous.  It  may,  therefore, 
fairly  be  received  as  having  the  sanction  of  his  authority. 

2d.  Next  in  order  may  be  noticed  the  testimony  of  the  children  of  Dr. 
M'Millan.  On  the  24th  April,  1854,  the  writer,  in  company  with  Rev. 
William  Ewing,  the  pastor  of  Chartiers,  visited  Mr.  John  M'Millan,  (since 
deceased),  who  occupied  the  old  homestead,  and  adjacent  to  whose  dwelling 
stands  the  veritable  "Log-Cabin"  itself.  This,  however,  was  the  second 
cabin.  The  first,  which  was  burnt  down,  was  at  some  distance  from  the 
dwelling]   Mr.  M'Millan  indicated  its  site.     He  stated  that  he  had  often 

33 


386  APPENDIX. 

heard  his  father  say — "  That  Mr.  Ross  taught  Latin  for  him,  and  that  this 
was  the  first  Latin  school  in  the  country."  The  writer  quotes  from  his 
memoranda,  made  at  the  time.  Mr.  M'Millan  added  that  his  father  used  to 
say — "  He  wished  the  world  to  forget,  as  soon  as  possible,  that  such  a  man 
as  John  M'Millan  had  ever  lived."  Unhappily,  the  world  is  too  ready  to 
forget  its  benefactors. 

On  the  3d  August,  1854,  the  writer  received  a  call  from  Mr.  M'Millan, 
accompanied  by  his  sister,  Mrs.  Harper,  the  oldest  child  of  Dr.  M'Millan. 
Mrs.  Harper,  who  was  in  her  seventy-seventh  year,  but  appeared  to  possess 
an  excellent  memory,  confirmed  her  brother's  statements;  and  her  testimony 
in  other  particulars  has  been  already  introduced  and  need  not  be  repeated. 
She  states  that  Mr.  Ross,  as  well  as  Mr.  McGready,  studied  languages  with 
her  father,  whilst  they  were  engaged  in  teaching  for  him,  the  former  the 
Latin  and  the  latter  the  English  scholars. 

Sd.  As  the  testimony  of  the  next  witness  is  perhaps  the  most  direct  of 
any,  and  by  many  will  be  deemed  conclusive  upon  the  subject,  it  will  bo 
proper  to  give  it  in  full,  as  taken  down  by  the  writer  at  the  time  specified. 

"  Canomburg,  Saturday,  June  17th,  1S54. 

"In  company  with  Dr.  John  Weaver,  I  this  day  called  upon  Mrs.  Sarah 
Park,  an  aged  lady,  residing  with  her  son,  Mr.  M'Dowell  Park,  about  five 
miles  from  Canonsburg. 

"  Mrs.  Park's  statements  to  Dr.  Woaver  and  myself  wero  as  follows,  she 
being  in  our  judgment  in  perfect  possession  of  all  her  mental  faculties,  her 
memory  apparently  unimpaired. 

"She  was  born  October  24th,  1769,  and  is  now  in  her  eightj'-fifth  year, 
and  in  the  enjoyment  of  excellent  health.  Her  maiden  name  was  M'Dowell. 
Her  father,  Judge  M'Dowell,  removed  from  Eastern  to  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania, when  she  was  about  four  years  of  age  (1773).  Her  father  resided 
upon  the  farm  now  owned  by  Mr.  Samuel  Pollock,  about  two  miles  from 
Chartiers'  meeting-house,  and  not  quite  two  miles  from  Dr.  M'Millan's. 
She  distinctly  recollects  when  Dr.  M'Millan  removed  his  family  to  Chartiers. 
There  being  no  house  prepared  for  him,  he  with  his  wife  and  child  (now 
Mrs.  Harper)  remained  for  six  weeks  at  her  father's  house.  (Mrs.  Park 
mentioned  one  or  two  incidents  connected  with  Dr.  M'Millan's  temporary 
residence  at  her  father's  house,  which,  though  trivial,  show  how  distinct 
and  vivid  her  recollection  of  that  period  is.  As  Dr.  M'Millan  removed  his 
family  to  Chartiers  in  1778,  she  must  have  been  at  that  time  nine  years 
of  age.) 

"Mrs.  Park  does  not  remember  the  procise  year  when  Dr.  M  Millan's 
ichool  commenced;  but  thinks  she  was  about  twelve  years  old,  (17  81,)  and 
Is  quite  sure  she  was  not  more  than  thirteen,  (1782,)  when  she  knew  ae^  eral 
young  men  who  were  studying  with  Dr.  M'Millan  at  his  own  house,  before 
the  first  school-house  was  built.     These  students  were  David  Smith,  John 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE.  387 

Brice,  James  McGready,  Francis  Reno,  and  Thomas  Reno.  Mr.  Srnitii 
boarded  with  Dr.  M'Millan  ;  all  the  others  boarded  with  her  father,  Judge 
M'Dowell.  She  remembers  distinctly  that  these  young  men  were  studying 
Latin  books, — is  perfectly  sure  of  it.  She  recollects  well  their  using  books 
she  could  not  read  in.  She  never  heard  of  an  English  school  at  Dr.  M'Mil- 
lan's  house,  and  is  quite  sure  he  never  taught  one.  She  knows  certainly 
that  the  young  men  named  above  recited  to  Dr.  M'Millan  at  his  own  house, 
before  any  school-house  was  built,  and  she  thinks,  before  Mr.  Ross  came  out 
to  tho  West.  The  students  named  above  were  all  gone  before  Mrs.  Park's 
marriage,  which  took  place  in  1780,  when  she  was  seventeen  years  of  age. 
Upon  her  marriage  she  left  the  more  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  school, 
and  went  to  live  upon  the  farm  whero  she  still  resides.  She  does  not  there- 
fore remember  very  distinctly  matters  connected  with  the  school  after  that 
period,  and  about  which  she  was  not  so  well  informed  at  the  time. 

"  The  first  school-house  was  built  at  some  distance  from  Dr.  M'Millan's 
drolling.  It  was  called  the  'Latin  School,'  and  known  by  that  name 
throughout  the  country.  This  building  was  destroyed  by  fire — she  does  not 
recollect  in  what  year,  hut  thinks  it  was  after  her  marriage ;  of  this  she  would 
not  bo  certain.  Mr.  Ross  was  the  first  teacher  in  this  school-house.  She 
recollects  him  distinctly,  and  the  fact  of  his  being  thus  engaged.  She  does 
not  know  what  his  age  at  the  time  was — thinks  it  may  have  been  twenty-five. 
Does  not  remember  how  long  he  remained  with  Dr.  M'Millan ;  thinks  it 
may  have  been  two  years.  She  thinks  Mr.  Ross  obtained  his  education  east 
of  the  mountains,  and  has  no  knowledge  of  his  having  studied  with  Dr. 
M'Millan. 

"  Mrs.  Park  never  heard  of  any  Latin  school  at  Rev.  Joseph  Smith's,  at 
Buffalo  ;  though  she  says  it  might  have  been  in  existeneo  without  her 
knowledge. 

"  She  remembers  Mr.  McGready  perfectly  well,  and  that  he  was  in  very 
limited  circumstances  when  obtaining  his  education ;  but  she  does  not  recol- 
lect his  boarding  at  Dr.  M'Millan's,  and  thinks,  if  he  did,  it  must  have  boen 
after  her  marriage,  (1786).  She  does  not  remember  his  teaching  an  English 
school." 

As  tho  ab(  ve  testimony  is  directly  to  tho  point,  the  reader  will  pardon  the 
following  evidence  of  tho  case  which  was  taken  that  no  error  might  be  com- 
mitted in  recording  it. 

"  Canonsburg,  June  17th,  1854. 

"  William  Park,  Esq.  Dear  Sir: — On  the  previous  pages  I  have  written 
out  the  information  given  to  me  this  morning  by  your  mother,  from  notes  I 
took  at  the  time.  I  have  read  it  to  Dr.  Weaver,  who  believes  it  to  be  a  cor- 
rect statement  of  tho  information  we  received.  But  as  I  may  not  have  given 
your  mother  time  to  collect  her  thoughts  in  our  brief  visit,  or  as  I  may  possi- 
bly, though  unintentionally,  have  stated  some  things  too  positively,  or  per- 


388  APPENDIX. 

haps  omitted  some  matters  that  should  have  beon  mentioned;  or  as  her 
thoughts  have  been  turned  to  this  subject  by  my  questions,  and  she  may 
have  since  recalled  some  facts  which  she  did  not  think  of  at  the  time  ;  I  will 
consider  it  a  great  favor  if  you  will  read  to  her,  carefully  and  slowly,  what 
I  have  written,  and  if  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  note  down  any  modifications, 
alterations,  or  additions  she  may  desire  to  make,  and  let  me  have  the  result 
whenover  you  conveniently  can.  Yours  truly,  R.  P." 

To  this  -note  a  reply  was  received,  June  30th,  from  a  daughter  of  Mr. 
Park,  returning  the  manuscript,  stating  that  she  had  attended  to  the  above 
request,  and  that  her  grandmother  said  her  recollections  were  correctly  repre- 
sented and  she  had  nothing  to  add.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  convey  to 
the  reader  any  adequate  idea  of  the  vivacity  and  distinctness  with  which 
this  truly  venerable  lady  recalled  and  related  the  events  of  her  childhood 
and  youth,  and  the  extreme  caution  with  which  she  spoke  of  matters  of 
which  she  was  not  perfectly  sure. 

In  comparing  the  testimony  of  Mrs.  Park  with  that  of  Mrs.  Irwin,  the 
reader  cannot  fail  to  notice  that  we  have  here  the  evidence  of  one  who  was 
twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  which  she  testifies, — who  was 
in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  and  intimate  with  his  fam- 
ily, and  who  testifies  respecting  matters  of  which  she  had  a  personal  knowl- 
edge, and  occurrences  which  passed  daily  before  her  eyes,  as  opposed  to  the 
recollections  of  one  who  was  at  this  period  a  child  of  six  or  seven  years  of 
age,  upwards  of  ten  miles  distant,  who  had  no  personal  knowledge  of  Dr. 
M'Millan's  school,  and  who  was  certainly  in  error  in  regard  to  Mr.  Dodd's. 
Also,  that  the  question  is  here  answered—"  Who  were  Dr.  M'Millan's  pupils 
at  this  early  date?"  The  names  of  at  least  five  of  them  "have  been  found." 
And  in  tho  last  place,  it  is  important  to  observe,  that  as  Messrs.  Smith  and 
Brice  were  among  these  students,  in  1781,  as  Mrs.  Park  strongly  believes, 
and  certainly  as  early  as  1782, — and  as  Dr.  Lindley  has  stated  that  they 
were  among  his  school-mates  at  Ten  Mile  from  some  time  in  1782  until  ho 
left  the  school  in  1784,  it  follows  inevitablj'  that  they  must  have  been  pupils 
of  Dr.  M'Millan  beforo  they  went  to  Mr.  Dodd,  even  if  we  take  the  latest 
date  assigned  by  Mrs.  Park.  David  Smith  was  probably  the  youngest  of 
these  pupils,  and  about  ten  years  of  age ;  yet  he  had  commenced  Latin  two 
years  before,  ("  Old  Redstono,"  page  443.)  Mrs.  Park,  it  will  be  seen,  is 
five  years  older  than  Rev.  Dr.  Lindley,  and  enjoyed  much  more  favorable 
opportunities  than  he,  for  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  tho  facts  to  which  she 
testifies. 

Of  one  of  the  students  mentioned  by  Mrs.  Park,  the  following  information 
has  boon  derived  from  Col.  William  Lea,  of  Allegheny  county,  through  the 
politeness  of  Mr.  J.  C.  Wrenshall :  "  Rev.  Francis  Reno  (Episcopal  minis- 
ter) was  a  student  of  Mr.  M'Millan,  of  Canonsburg.  He  came  to  tho  old 
church  at  Woodvillo,  known  as  Chartiers  Chapel,  about  the  year  1792,  and 


THE   ORIGIN   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE.  389 

preached  there  until  1811.     About  that  time  ho  removod  to  Beaver,  and  died 
there  about  1830." 

It  may  seem  unnecessary  to  add  anything  to  testimony  so  explicit  as  that 
of  Mrs.  Park,  and  from  a  source  so  unimpeachable ;  but  the  reader  who  has 
taken  any  interest  in  the  subject  will  be  glad  to  see  that  her  statements  are 
not  without  corroborating  evidence. 

"  Canonsburg,  Saturday,  June  24th,  1854. 

"  In  company  with  John  E.  Black,  Esq.,  the  writer  visited  this  day  four 
aged  persons  in  the  vicinity  of  Canonsburg:  Messrs.  John  Barr,  (four  miles 
from  town,)  Joseph  Moss,  (seven  miles,)  Daniel  Darragh,  Esq.,  (ten  miles,) 
and  James  Thomas,  (seven  miles.) 

4th.  "  John  Barr  was  born  in  1780,  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania ; 
came  West  in  1785;  and  when  about  eight  years  of  age,  (1788,)  was 
acquainted  with  Francis  and  Thomas  Dunlavy,  who  were  then  going  to  Dr. 
M'Millan  to  school.  Does  not  know  about  the  Renos  going  to  Dr.  M'Mil- 
lan's  school,  but  remembers  the  men.  One  of  them  became  an  Episcopal 
minister,  and  preached  about  seven  miles  from  Pittsburgh,  on  the  Washing- 
ton turnpike  ;  the  other  a  partner  in  a  wholesale  grocery  in  Pittsburgh.  At 
least  fifty  years  ago,  Mr.  Barr  used  to  hear  of  Mr.  Ross  having  taught  Latin 
For  Dr.  M'Millan. 

5th.  "Joseph  Moss  was  born  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1761, 
and  is  now  in. his  ninety-third  year.  Came  West  in  1784,  in  his  twenty- 
third  year.  Dr.  M'Millan  had  beon  teaching  some  years  before  that  time, 
Remembers  Mr.  Reno,  who  preached  near  Pittsburgh,  and  believes  he  studied 
under  Dr.  M'Millan.  Mr.  Reno  was  preaching  soon  after  Mr.  Moss  came 
West.  Mr.  Moss  was  a  surveyor  in  early  life  :  attended  Mr.  Clarke's  church, 
now  Mr.  Marshall's. 

6th.  "  Daniel  Darragh  was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1766,  and  is  now  in  his  eighty-eighth  year.  Came  West  in  1786. .  Doos 
not  remember  whether  Dr.  M'Millan's  school  was  in  operation  then,  or  not* 
Always  heard  of  it  as  the  oldest  school  west  of  the  mountains  ;  never  heard 
at  that  time  of  any  other.  Thinks  Mr.  Ross  was  then  a  lawyer  in  Washing- 
ton. Does  not  remember  hearing  of  Mr.  Ross  teaching.  Remembers  a 
student,  named  Siemens,  who  recited  to  Dr.  M'Millan  at  his  own  house. 

7th.  "James  Thomas,  born  in  Xow  Jersey  in  1771,  came  West  in  1773. 
Remembers  hearing  of  Mr.  Ross  studying  with  Dr.  M'Millan.  Cannot 
recollect  any  particulars  about  the  school. 

"  Mrs.  Thomas  remembers  Rev.  Samuel  Porter  living  on  Dr.  M'Millan's 
place,  and  studying  with  him,  about  1788.  His  son  was  her  school-mate  at 
that  time.  She  remembers  well  that  the  school-house  used  to  be  called  the 
'  Latin  School.' 

8th.  "May  18th,  1854.  Called  this  afternoon  on  Isaac  White,  Betsey 
White,  and  Mrs.  Jane  Berry,  resident  about  a  mile  from  Canonsburg.     They 

33* 


390  APPENDIX. 

aro  the  children  of  Georgo  White,  who  died  March  2,  1847,  in  his  ninety- 
second  year.  He  was  one  of  the  oldest  settlors,  having,  with  his  father, 
John  White,  arrived  at  Chartiors  April  29th,  1772.  George  White,  being 
desirous  to  qualify  himself  for  becoming  an  English  teacher,  repaired  to  Dr. 
M'Millan's  school  and  attended  it  for  some  time;  then  re-crossed  the 
mountains,  and  either  taught  or  attended  school  for  some  timo  in  Adams 
county,  Pennsylvania;  returned  home,  and  after  the  lapse  of  some  time 
again  visited  Adams  county  on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage,  which  took 
place  in  1786,  when  he  was  about  thirty  years  of  age. 

"His  children  cannot  fix  the  date  of  his  attending  school,  but  think  it 
must  have  been  some  years  before  his  marriage.  They  distinctly  recollect 
having  often  heard  him  say  that  Latin  was  taught  there  then,  though  he  did 
not  study  it ;  that  Mr.  Ross  was  there  then,  and  was  one  of  the  Latin 
students;  that  he  often  spoke  of  the  Latin  students  as  considering  them- 
selves of  a  little  more  consequence  than  the  other  students,  and  as  being  so 
regarded  by  the  others ;  and  they  have  often  heard  him  say  that  when  the 
school-house  was  burnt,  all  the  Latin  books  which  had  been  left  in  it  over 
night  were  consumed,  and  there  were  no  more  this  side  the  mountains, 
which  occasioned  great  inconvenience." 

The  recollection  of  a  nephew  of  George  White,  Mr.  James  White,  of 
Cecil  township,  who  was  prosont,  coincided  with  that  of  his  cousins  as 
given  above. 

9th.  Extract  from  a  letter  from  Rev.  Dr.  Cephas  Dodd,  May  17th,  1854  :— 
"When  my  father  taught  in  Washington  in  1789,  Abraham  Scott  was  thero 
as  a  pupil.  Ho  was  reading  some  of  tho  higher  classics,  and  had  previously 
been  at  Dr.  M'Millan's  school.  I  used  to  hear  him  speak  of  Jemmy  Ross 
(as  he  called  him)  as  having  been  his  teacher  there.  James  Ross  was  at 
that  time  a  practicing  attorney  in  Washington,  and  had  probably  been  so  as 
early  as  1787,  as  he  was  at  that  time  one  of  the  Trustees  named  in  the 
charter  of  the  Washington  Academy." 

10th.  Extract  from  a  letter  from  non.  H.  M.  Brackenridge,  a  student  at 
Jefferson  College  in  1805 : — "  Tarentum,  Pennsylvania,  June  12th,  1854. 
I  have  always  understood  that  the  first  Latin  school  ever  established  in  tho 
Western  part  of  Pennsylvania,  was  that  set  on  foot  by  the  Rev.  John 
M'Millan  at  Canonsburg,  or  near  that  place,  in  a  log-cabin  by  the  road 
side.  I  have  heard  my  father  say  that  once,  on  his  way  from  Pittsburgh  to 
AVashington  court,  he  was  induced,  according  to  a  practice  almost  invariable 
with  him,  to  stop  at  the  school  in  the  log-cabin  referred  to,  and  there  he 
found  James  Ross  teaching  a  Latin  class;  and  according  to  his  custom,  he 
examined  the  scholars,  and  conversed  with  the  teacher,  in  whom  he  im- 
mediately took  a  great  interest.  He  was  well  acquainted  with  the  family 
and  connections  in  the  Barrens  of  York,  where  my  father's  father  had  also 
sottled,  and  lived  as  friond  and  neighbor  to  the  Ross  family.     This  must 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE.       391 

have  been  prior  to  the  year  1785,  for  this  reason  :  my  father  established  him 
self  as  a  lawyer  in  Pittsburgh  in  1781,  and  Mr.  Ross  must  have  been  at 
least  seven  years  at  the  bar  before  1794,  when  he  was  a  Senator  of  the 
United  States.  My  father,  on  inquiring  into  his  future  prospects,  advised 
him  to  study  law,  and  gave  him  letters  to  his  friends  in  Philadelphia, 
especially  Mr.  Coxe,  with  whom  Mr.  Ross  completed  his  studies.  From  this 
we  may  form  an  idea  of  the  time  which  must  have  elapsed  before  he  came 
to  the  bar,  and  of  the  time  necessary  to  acquire  such  distinction  as  to  be 
elected  to  the  Senate  before  the  year  1794.  It  would  seem  to  me  that  this 
would  surely  carry  the  period  at  which  my  father  saw  him  teaching  in  the 
log-cabin,  beyond  the  year  17S5. 

"Mr.  Ross  was  of  course  a  well-grounded  Latin  scholar,  but  I  am  not  so 
well  informed  as  to  his  proficiency  in  classical  studies.  It  must  have  been 
good,  judging  from  the  high  literary  taste  and  polish  of  his  style.  James 
Ross,  (no  relative,)  the  celebrated  teacher,  and  author  of  the  grammar,  was 
probably  his  teacher,  as  he  had  a  Latin  school  at  the  place  where  the  family 
of  Mr.  Ross  resided  in  York  county.  This  is  the  first  time  I  ever  heard  the 
fact  of  Mr.  M'Millan's  being  the  first  to  establish  a  Latin  school  in  the 
West,  called  in  question." 

11th.  A  reminiscence  of  Joseph  Patterson,  Esq.,  of  Pittsburgh,  is  also  in 
point.  Mr.  Patterson  was  intimately  acquainted  with  Mr.  Ross,  and  re- 
mombers  to  have  heard  him  relate,  that  whilst  living  with  Dr.  M'Millan,  he 
joined  a  party  which  was  made  up  to  go  to  the  relief  of  the  settlers  on  the 
Ohio,  upon  the  occasion  of  an  incursion  of  the  Indians ;  and  that  upon  the 
way  they  met  one  of  the  brothers  Poe  (mentioned  in  "Old  Redstone,"  page 
65)  returning  from  his  famous  contest  with  the  Indians  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio, — the  corpse  of  an  Indian  being  slung  over  his  horse.  Now  a  refer- 
rence  to  any  border'history  of  the  period  will  show  that  this  celebrated 
encounter  took  place  about  the  middle  of  July,  1782.* 

12th.  And  finally  the  prevalence  of  the  opinion,  which  appears  to  have 
been  universal,  and  certainly  has  been  until  very  recently  undisputed,  that 
Dr.  M'Millan's  was  the  first  classical  school  in  the  West,  is  in  itself,  under 
the  circumstances,  strong  evidence  of  its  own  correctness.  Such  a  beliof 
was  general,  long  before  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  M.  Brown  came  to  Canousburg 


*  In  a  book  entitled  Western  Adventure,  will  be  found  an  account  of  the  severe 
action  of  the  Poes  with  the  Indians,  and  will  fix  the  date  of  that  action  no  doubt 
correctly.  I  had  an  account  of  it  from  Andrew  Poe  himself,  and  also  from  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Marquis,  who  was  in  the  engagement.  In  a  conversation  with  the  Hon. 
James  Ross  on  the  subject  of  that  contest,  he  told  me  that  he  with  a  party  of 
volunteers,  met  the  Poes  and  their  party  on  their  return  at  Thomas  White's,  on 
Raccoon,  bringing  with  them  young  Cherry,  who  was  killed  in  the  engagement, 
carrying  him  on  a  horse.  Mr.  Marquis  told  me  he  was  near  to  him  when  he  fell 
among  a  thicket  of  spice  wood  bushes,  and  soon  died. 

Joseph  Patterson. 


892  APPENDIX. 

in  1S22,  and  he  does  not  seem  in  any  wise  to  be  justly  held  responsible  for 
its  existence.  The  writer,  and  those  who  accompanied  him,  can  bear  wit- 
ness to  the  unfeigned  surprise  with  which  the  oldest  inhabitants  of  the 
country  around  l)r.  M'Millan's  residence,  learned  that  the  correctness  of 
the  opinion  with  which  they  had  grown  up  from  childhood  was  now  called 
in  question,  —  an  opinion  which,  it  had  never  occurred  to  them,  could  bo 
within  tho  reach  of  skepticism.  That  such  a  belief  should  have  been  enter- 
tained, apparently  from  the  very  first,  by  those  who  must  necessarily  have 
been  cognizant  of  the  facts,  is  altogether  inexplicable  on  any  other  hypo- 
thesis than  that  the  belief  was  warranted  by  the  facts.  ■ 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  tho  doubts  which  have  been  recently 
expressed  had  not  been  propounded  sooner,  before  so  many,  who  could  have 
borne  tho  amplest  testimony  to  the  facts  of  the  case,  had  disappeared  forever 
from  the  scene  of  those  early  trials,  efforts,  and  difficulties,  of  which  they 
loved  to  speak. 

That  such  an  opinion  as  that  spoken  of  above  was  general,  scarcely 
requires  additional  confirmation ;  but  the  following  extract  from  a  letter 
from  Dr.  Samuel  Colver,  of  Jefferson,  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania.  May 
28th,  1854,  not  only  gives  evidence  of  the  state  of  opinion  nearly  forty 
years  ago,  but  contains  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  so  just 
and  unstudied,  and  so  honorable  to  the  heart  that  conveys  it,  that  the  reader 
will  readily  pardon  its  insertion. 

"My  information  on  tho  subject  was  obtained  as  far  back  as  the  session 
of  1819-'20,  at  which  time  and  subsequently  I  hoard  much  relative  to  tho 
early  biography  of  Dr.  M'Millan.  During  my  first  session  at  Jefferson 
College,  I  boarded  at  the  house  of  the  widow  Emery,  opposite  the  college. 
Mrs.  Emery's  house  was  much  frequented  by  many  of  the  old  citizens  of 
the  town  and  country,  who  seemed  to  take  particular  pleasure  in  relating 
the  remarkable  incidents  pertaining  to  the  early  and  subsequent  life  of  Dr. 
M'Millan.  I  afterwards  boarded  at  the  houses  of  William  Thompson  and 
Joseph  M'Nairy.  They  wore  members  of  the  Seceder  Church,  and  were 
frequently  visited  by  Dr.  Ramsey,  who  was  at  that  time  pastor  of  that. 
church.  In  all  theso  places  the  early  history  and  settlement  of  l)r.  M'Mil- 
lan was  discussed  and  related  so  frequently  and  with  such  coincidence,  as  to 
make  an  indelible  impression  on  my  memory,  so  much  so  that  they  appear 
to  tne  now  as  almost  tho  narratives  of  but  yesterday. 

"At  that  time  Dr.  M'Millan  was  hold  in  exalted  veneration,  not  only  by 
the  citizens  generally,  but  also  by  tho  students  of  the  college,  who  not  only 
looked  upon  him  as  the  founder  of  that  Institution,  but  as  an  oracle  of  wis- 
dom and  piety,  from  whom  they  might  derive  lessons  of  instruction.  Dr. 
M'Millan  must  have  been  at  that  time  near  seventy  years  of  age.  yet  tbo 
] lowers  of  his  mind  and  body  seemed  in  their  full  vigor,  and  the  spirit  of 
love  and  benevolence  shone  through  all  his  actions.  He  regularly  visited 
the  college  twice  a  week,  excepting  in  bad  weather,  and  attentive!"  list'  tied 


THE  ORIGIN  OP  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE.       393 

to  tho  recitations  of  the  classes  in  their  turn.  I  remember  well,  if  a  student 
should  make  a  mistake,  that  he  was  always  the  first  to  discover  it,  and  would 
correct  it  by  some  humorous  remark,  which  not  only  corrected  the  error  but 
palliated  it.  He  preached  regularly  at  his  place,  and  frequently  at  the  col- 
lege. His  sermons  were  eloquent  and  powerful.  At  that  time  Dr.  M'Millan 
was  considered  the  most  useful  and  benevolent  man  of  his  day;  and  I  do 
not  think  that  Gen.  Washington  was  ever  more  beloved  by  the  American 
people,  than  was  Dr.  M'Millan  by  those  portions  of  Washington  county,  and 
elsewhere,  where  his  usefulness  as  a  preacher,  and  his  benevolence  in  pre- 
paring young  men  for  the  ministry,  were  so  extensively  experienced. 

"I  now  come  to  give  you  what  information  I  have  as  regards  that  period 
of  Dr.  M'Millan 's  life  in  which  he  commenced  his  Latin  school.  This  knowl- 
edge has  been  derived  from  the  citizens  of  Canonsburg  and  its  vicinity,  many 
of  whom  were  living  at  that  time,  who  had  been  cotemporaneous  with  Dr. 
M'Millan  in  his  early  settlement.  The  result  of  this  information  is  about 
this  :  that  Dr.  M'Millan  first  visited  the  western  country  in  1775,  and  preached 
to  the  border  settlements  of  Westmoreland  and  Washington  counties,  during 
the  summer  and  autumn  of  that  year ;  and  that  he  returned  to  the  East,  and 
removed  with  his  family  to  the  vicinity  of  Canonsburg,  and  immediately 
commenced  a  Latin  school  with  the  view  of  preparing  young  men  for  the 
ministry  :  that  the  celebrated  James  Ross  was  among  his  first  students,  and 
that  he  afterwards  became  a  teacher  of  classics  under  Dr.  M'Millan.  Mrs. 
Harper  remembers  Ross  as  a  teacher  under  her  father  as  far  back  as  her 
fifth  year,  which  was  about  the  year  1782 :  and  of  course  Dr.  M'Millan'a 
Latin  school  must  have  commenced  several  years  previous." 

The  writer  of  this  can  bear  testimony  to  the  existence  of  the  same  univer- 
sal impression  when  he  was  a  student  in  Jefferson  College,  some  twenty 
years  after  the  period  referred  to  in  Dr.  Colvor's  letter;  and  when,  in  com- 
pany with  several  of  his  class-mates,  in  the  spirit  of  pilgrims  to  some  con- 
secrated shrine,  he  visited  the  humble  "  Log-Cabin"  so  often  referred  to,  and 
heard  from  Mr.  John  M'Millan  the  same  narrative  which  was  repeatod  to 
him  fifteen  years  afterwards,  as  recorded  above,  it  never  occurred  to  him  that 
the  attempt  would  or  could  be  made  to  divest  that  hallowed  spot  of  tho  hon- 
ors it  had  worn  so  long. 

But  a  still  higher  authority  is  that  of  the  author  of  "  Old  Redstone,"  who 
was  graduated  at  Jefferson  College  in  1815,  and  who  states  in  a  letter  dated 
November  27th,  1854 : — -"  I  had  always  entertained  the  prevailing  opinion 
about  the  history  of  the  'Log-Cabin'  school,  until,  unexpectedly,  without 
my  seeking  it,  I  got  the  statement  which  Mrs.  Irwin,  of  Ohio,  gave  me." 

The  reader,  who  has  had  the  patience  to  accompany  us  thus  far,  is  in  pos- 
session of  all  the  evidence  the  writer  has  been  able  to  collect  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  our  investigations.  The  field  of  his  inquiries  was  not,  however,  by 
any  means  exhausted,  when  his  progress  was  suddenly  arrested,  and  circum- 
stances unnecessary  to  be  detailed  compelled  him  to  abandon  his  researches. 


394  APPENDIX. 

Aftor  the  lapse  of  more  than  two  years,  a  period  of  comparative  leisure  has 
at  last  enabled  him  to  arrange  his  notes,  and  the  reader  must  decide  how  far 
they  render  any  assistance  towards  a  settlement  of  the  interesting  question — 
Where  was  the  first  Literary  Institution  West  of  the  Mountains  t 

A  brief  review  of  all  that  has  been  advanced  in  regard  to  Dr.  M'Millan's 
school,  will  show  that  the  only  direct  testimony  in  opposition  to  the  com- 
monly received  opinion  of  its  priority  to  all  others,  is  that  of  Mrs.  Irwin, 
and  possibly  that  of  Rev.  Dr.  Lindley.  The  evidence  of  the  former  is  utterly 
irreconcilablo  with  admitted  facts;  whilo  the  statements  of  the  latter  maybe 
made  to  harmonize  with  the  current  belief.  The  opinion  that  Mr.  Rosa 
taught  an  English,  and  not  a  Latin  school,  is  met  by  the  repeated  declaration 
of  Dr.  M'Millan,  in  tho  hearing  of  his  children,  to  tho  contrary;  by  a  similar 
declaration,  as  the  writer  understands  it,  on  the  part  of  one  of  Mr.  Ross' 
old  pupils,  Abraham  Scott;  and  by  tho  evidence  that  Mr.  Ross  was  discov- 
ered by  Judge  Brackenridgo  actually  hearing  a  Latin  class.  The  other 
arguments  which  have  been  adduced  do  not,  upon  examination,  appear  to 
carry  with  them  even  a  presumption  that  the  prevalent  opinion  is  incorrect 

<Tn  the  other  hand,  wo  have  the  personal  recollection  of  an  unexceptionable 
witness,  Mrs.  Park,  to  tho  effect  that  a  Latin  school  was  in  existence  at  Dr. 
M'Millan's,  as  she  believes,  in  17S1,  and  as  she  is  positively  certain,  in  17S2  ; 
the  recollection  of  a  daughter  of  Dr.  M'Millan's,  carrying  tho  school  back 
as  far  as  1782;  an  incident  stated  by  Joseph  Patterson,  Esq.,  in  regard  to 
the  early  life  of  James  Ross,  which  fixes  his  residence  with  Dr.  M'Millan  at 
least  as  far  back  as  July,  17S2;  tho  circumstances  related  by  lion.  11.  M. 
Brackenridgo,  amounting  to  a  fair  presumption  that  Mr.  Ross'  residence  with 
Dr.  M'Millan  was  at  a  very  early  date  ;  the  statement  of  Mr.  Moss  that  the 
school  had  been  in  existence  for  some  years  before  1784;  the  statement  of 
the  children  of  George  White  that  in  then-  opinion,  for  which  they  give  rea- 
sons, their  father  must  have  attended  Dr.  M'Millan's  school  some  years  beforo 
17S6;  the  fact  that  some  of  the  pupils  of  Mr.  Dodd,  who  were  with  hiuifrom 
1782  till  at  least  1784,  had  yet  been  with  Dr.  M'Millan  also  in  1782,  which 
would  appear  to  show  conclusively  that  they  must  have  been  students  at 
Chartiers  before  they  repaired  to  Ten  Mile;  tho  declarations  of  Dr.  M'Millan 
to  bis  children,  that  his  school  was  tho  first  Latin  school  in  the  country;  his 
own  language,  as  quoted  above,  which  it  is  difficult  to  roconcilo  with  truth 
on  any  other  hypothesis  than  that  of  the  early  commencement  and  the  pri- 
ority of  his  institution;  and  finally  tho  universality  of  such  an  opinion, 
amongst  those  who  had  tho  best  opportunities  for  becoming  acquainted  with 
the  facts,  and  for  the  existence  and  prevalence  of  which  belief  no  explana- 
tion whatever  has  been  offered,  or  can  well  be  imagined,  save  thai  it  coincides 
with  tho  truth.  Tho  reader  will  judge  for  himself  upon  which  side  the  evi- 
dence preponderates. 

But  further,  it  is  alleged,  ("  Old  Redstone,"  page  192,)  that'-  The  Academy 
did  not  originate  in  the  Latin  school  at  the  '  Log-Cabin,'  but  was  Dcgun  bade- 


THE  OKIGIN  OP  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE.        895 

pendently  of  it,  and  superseded  it,  and  caused  its  suspension."  It  is  not 
enough,  therefore;  to  maintain  the  honor  of  the  parent  stock :  the  legitimacy 
of  the  offspring  must  also  be  defended. 

Now  the  facts  of  the  case,  as  related  by  Dr.  M'Millan  in  his  letter  and 
report,  already  quoted,  and  by  Rev.  11.  Patterson,  in  his  letter  to  Dr.  Brown, 
are  as  follow : 

That  in  July,  1791,  upon  a  Monday  after  a  sacramental  season  in  Chartiers 
congregation,  a  consultation,  at  which  Rev.  Messrs.  M'Millan  and  Smith, 
with  other  friends  of  learning,  were  present,  was  held,  and  a  resolution 
adopted,  to  establish  a  Literary  Institution  in  the  West.  On  the  question  of 
its  location,  the  "  Log-Cabin"  was  proposed  by  Dr.  M'Millan,  Canonsburg  by 
Col.  Canon.  It  may  here  be  remarked  that  if  the  former  site  had  been 
selected,  there  could  be  no  dispute  as  to  the  fact  that  the  Academy  was  the 
succossor  of  the  Latin  school.  Canonsburg,  however,  was  chosen,  Dr. 
M'Millan  concurring,  and  by  appointment  the  exercises  of  the  Academy  were- 
commenced  tho  next  morning  in  a  field  near  the  village,  Dr.  M'Millan  him- 
self taking  the  most  prominent  part  in  them.  Mr.  David  Johnston  was 
invited  to  attond  and  take  charge  of  the  Academy.  Thus  far  the  letter  of 
Rev.  R.  Patterson,  who  made  the  first  recitation.  Must  not  these  facts  have 
escaped  tho  author  of  "  Old  Redstone,"  whou  ho  observes,  page  80,  that 
"Dr.  M'Millan  had  no  direct  agency,  and  took  no  active  part  in  getting  up 
the  Canonsburg  Academy  ?" 

Further,  Dr.  M'Millan,  in  his  letter,  states  : — "  I  had  still  a  few  with  me 
when  the  academy  was  opened  at  Canonsburg,  and  finding  that  I  could  not 
teach  and  do  justice  to  my  congregation,  I  immediately  gave  it  up  and 
sent  them  there." — "  Old  Redstone,"  page  193. 

Again,  in  his  report  to  the  Trustees,  already  quoted,  Dr.  M'Millan  states 
that — "  A  Latin  and  Greok  school  which  he  had  kept  at  his  own  house,  for 
the  purpose  of  supplying  the  church  as  far  as  was  practicable,  was  trans- 
ferred to  this  infant  academy,  the  original  fountain,  &c,  Ac." 

The  only  evidence  to  the  contrary  is  the  statement  of  William  Darby, 
Esq.,  ("Old  Redstone,"  page  193),  that  Dr.  M'Millan's  school  was  still  in 
operation  through  1789  and  part  of  1790,  after  the  academy  was  established 
in  Canonsburg.  But  in  the  first  place,  tho  academy  was  not  established  in 
Canonsburg  until  July,  1791 ;  in  the  next  place,  if  Mr.  Darby  meant  the 
latter  year,  his  evidence  is  directly  contrary  to  that  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  who 
may  be  supposed  to  be  better  acquainted  with  the  facts ;  and  in  the  last 
plaee,  it  is  contrary  to  a  fair  presumption  from  the  language  in  which  Rev. 
Dr.  Lindley,  as  quoted  above,  describes  the  commencement  of  the  Canons- 
burg Academy. 

If  tho  active  co-operation  of  Dr.  M'Millan  in  building  up  tho  academy, — ■ 
if  tho  leading  part  he  took  in  tho  very  inception  of  the  enterprise,  as  well  as 
during  all  its  progress,  in  selecting  its  teachers,  in  raising  funds  for  it,  in 
frequently  visiting  it,  and  in  managing  its  concerns, — if  all  this,  in  con- 


39G  APl'KNDIX. 

nection  with  tho  immediate  transfer  of  his  pupils  to  the  academy,  a  fact 
which  he  has  certified  under  his  own  hand, — does  not  render  that  academy 
the  lineal  descendant  of  the  Latin  school, — it  is  difficult  to  imagine  what 
would  have  constituted  a  legitimate  succession. 

If,  upon  the  other  hand,  it  he  really  incorrect  to  suppose  that  there  was 
such  an  immediate  succession,  it  is  very  clear  that  Dr.  M'Millan  himself 
labored  under  this  mistaken  impression ;  that  the  same  misapprehension  has 
always  prevailed  amongst  those  who  have  had  tho  best  opportunities  for 
becoming  familiar  with  the  facts ;  and  lastly,  that  the  author  of  "  Old 
Redstone"  has  himself  fallen  into  the  samo  error,  when  he  states  (page  77) 
that  Mr.  Smith's  school,  by  being  transferred  to  Dr.  M'Millan's,  was  "the 
real  nucleus,  the  larva,  out  of  which  grew  eventually,  first,  tho  Canonsburg 
Academy,  and  then  Jefferson  College." 

But  with  what  propriety  can  it  bo  said,  ("  Old  Redstone,"  page  190),  that 
an  institution  was  "originated"  by  the  Synod  of  Virginia,  '"located"  in 
Canonsburg  by  tho  Presbytery  of  Redstone,  and  "  merged  into  the  academy 
of  that  place  in  1791-'2,"  when  this  ecclesiastical  figment  never  had  any 
existence  whatever,  apart  from  that  of  the  academy  itself,  which  had  been 
in  successful  operation  for  two  years  before  the  Presbytery  finally  recognized 
it  as  an  institution  under  their  care  ?  It  has  never  been  made  to  appear 
that  the  Synod  of  Virginia  had  any  agency  whatever  in  "originating"  the 
academy  at  Canonsburg,  that  institution  having  been  in  existence  some  three 
months  before  tho  date  of  tho  Synod's  resolution  on  the  subject  of  western 
education.  Why  should  we  seek,  at  this  late  day,  and  without  tho  slightest 
evidence,  to  justify  such  a  course,  to  crown  the  Synod  with  the  honors  which 
for  more  than  half  a  century  have  encircled  the  brow  of  M'Millan  ? 

It  is  due  to  the  memory  of  the  noble-minded  and  self-sacrificing  fathers 
of  our  western  churches,  to  say  that  no  spirit  of  jealousy  could  ever  have 
found  a  lodgment  in  their  bosoms.  Disinterested  zeal  for  the  service  of  their 
Divine  Master  was  all  that  impelled  thom  to  thread  tho  mazes  of  these 
western  forests,  to  follow  close  upon  the  obscure  pathway  of  the  pioneer,  and 
almost  simultaneously  with  the  erection  of  his  rude  hut,  to  rear  beside  it  tho 
school-house  and  the  church.  It  reflects  the  highest  honor  on  these  illustri- 
ous men,  that  scarce  thirty  years  were  suffered  to  elapse  after  the  first  daring 
adventurer  had  penetrated  a  hitherto  pathless  wilderness, — thirty  years,  not 
of  prosperity  and  peace,  but  of  painful  vigilance  and  unceasing  struggle, 
of  unexampled  hardships  and  heroic  endurance, — until  tho  poetry  and  elo- 
quence of  Greece  and  Rome,  the  truths  of  modern  science,  and  of  sacred 
learning,  had  found  three  humble  halls,  three  devoted  instructors,  and  a  score 
of  assiduous  pupils, — though  the  war-whoop  of  the  retreating  savage  still 
echoed  within  the  surrounding  valleys,  and  his  council-fires  still  blazed  upon 
the  hills.  History  presents  few  parallels  of  achievements  so  worthy  of 
remembrance,  yet  so  speedily  forgotten.  Amidst  any  other  people  than  tho 
ungrateful  descendants  of  such  heroic  sires,    the    consecrated    spot   where 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE.  397 

learning  reared  her  first  abode  had  long  since  been  distinguished  by  some 
fitting  monument,  inscribed  with  a  name  posterity  should  "not  willingly 
let  die." 

It  is  due  also  to  those  whose  evidence  has  been  collated  on  the  preceding 
pages,  to  say  that  the  discrepancies  which  may  be  found  to  exist  in  their 
reminiscences,  some  of  which  have  been  passed  by  unnoticed,  whilst  of 
others  it  has  been  no  grateful  task  to  speak,  should  not  affect  their  character 
for  truthfulness.  It  is  understood  that  they  testify  to  the  best  of  their 
remembrance  ;  nor  is  it  surprising  that  there  should  be  some  variations  in 
the  recollections  of  occurrences  of  three  score  years  ago. 

Especially  is  it  due  to  the  respected  author  of  "  Old  Redstone,"  to  bear 
testimony  to  the  fidelity  with  which  he  has  discharged  the  task  he  has  under- 
taken, and  to  the  value  of  his  labors  in  rescuing  so  much  of  the  history  of 
Western  Presby  terianism  from  that  oblivion  to  which  it  was  so  rapidly  hasten- 
ing. With  the  devotion  of  a  Tully,  he  has  striven  to  remove  the  thistles 
that  were  so  quickly  concealing  the  monuments  of  the  wisdom  of  the  past : 
with  the  piety  of  an  Old  Mortality,  ho  has  endeavored  to  deepen  the  inscrip- 
tions sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  religion  and  the  patriotism  of  our  fathers. 
No  one  would  shrink  sooner  than  he,  from  denying  praise  where  praise  was 
justly  due;  and  his  hand  would  be  the  first  to  replace  a  chaplet  he  had 
unwittingly  removed. 

R.  P. 

Oakland  College,  Miss.,  January  1st,  1857. 


To  review  this  able  and  ingenious  paper,  in  all  its  details,  would  be  un- 
reasonably taxing  the  patience  of  readers.  We  feel  no  special  zeal  about 
the  issue  of  this  question  of  priority  in  respect  to  the  early  Latin  schools  in 
Western  Pennsylvania.  It  may  be  thought  by  some  that  this  question  was 
unnecessarily  and  foolishly  raised  in  the  first  instance,  and  that  the  almost 
universally  current  traditions  should  have  been  left  undisturbed:  —  and  that 
it  was  an  invidious  and  dishonorable  employment  to  attempt  to  displaco  a. 
garland  from  the  brow  of  Dr.  M'Millan.  Now  we  claim  a  veneration  for  the 
exalted  character  of  that  never-to-be-forgotten  father  of  our  Western  Zion, 
not  inferior  to  that  cherished  by  the  writer  of  this  paper.  We  greatly 
respect  the  memory  of  Dr.  M'Millan.  But  to  receive  and  adopt  implicitly 
every  tradition  that  may  gather  round  a  good  '  man's  history,  is  rather  an 
equivocal  way  of  evincing  true  respect.  All  who  are  familiar  with  history, 
are  aware  that  ingenious  fictions  and  legends  have  often  been  employed  to 
augment  the  renown  of  distinguished  men,  and  to  throw  a  halo  of  glory 
around  their  heads.  Witness  the  ingenious  tale  about  Dr.  M'Millan  in  "  Day's 
Historical  Collection  of  Pennsylvania,"  page  668,  where  it  is  stated  that  "he 
settled  in  Washington  county  in  1773," — and  "  with  the  commencement  of 
his  labors,  began  his  school  at  Canonsburg,"  and  that  "  the  number  of  his 

34 


898  APPENDIX. 

students  Laving  increased,  a  stone  building  was  erected  in  1790  ;"  —  not  one 
sentence  or  clause  of  which  is  correct.  Witness,  again,  the  story  told  of 
Dr.  Witherspoon :  Unit  when  the  Convention  met  to  form  the  Constitution 
of  the  i  nited  States,  the  Doctor  put  a  Confession  of  Faith  in  Lis  pocket; 
and  having  our  Presbyterian  Constitution  constantly  ready  for  reference,  ho 
succeeded  in  getting  our  admirable  frame  of  Government  modeled,  in  its 
main  features,  after  our  Presbyterian  form  of  Government.  Whereas,  Dr, 
Witherspoon,  though  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  that  adopted 
and  signed  'he  Declaration  of  Independence,  where  Li.-  name  i«  also  found, 
and  though  a  member  of  the  Convention  that  drew  up  the  article*  of  con- 
federation in  1778,  was  not  a  member  at  all  of  the  Convention  that  in  178C 
formed  the  Constitution  !  Witness,  again,  the  beautiful  story  about  President 
Davies,  the  great  American  preacher— a  story  once  universally  t* >1  <1  and 
believed  among  Presbyterians  iu  Virginia  —  how,  that  when  on  a  visit  to 
England,  and  invited  to  preach  before  the  court  of  George  II.,  Lis 
overpowering  eloquence  bo  deeply  moved  the  king  that  he  said,  ah. ml  tu  one 
of  his  nobles,  "did  ever  man  speak  like  this  man!'"  and  how  Mr.  Davies 
pauseTd,  and  then  said,  slowly  and  solemnly:  "when  the  lion  roars,  the 
beasts  of  the  forest  tremble;  when  the  king  of  heaven  speaks,  let  the  kings 
of  the  earth  keep  silence!"  The  whole  story  has  been,  long  since,  proved 
to  bo  a  mere  fabrication.  Witness  the  story  of  Lord  Baltimore  having  first 
introduced  the  principles  of  religious  liberty  into  his  government  of  tho 
Maryland  colony  —  a  legend  which  tho  Hon.  J.  P.  Kennedy,  late  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  scattered  to  the  winds,  by  showing,  conclusively,  that  the 
principles  of  religious  liberty  were  in  the  charter,  granted  by  a  British 
Protestant  king  to  Lord  Baltimore,  and  not  in  the  Colonial  Constitution  of 
Maryland,  further  than  the  charter  required.  And,  to  cite  a  case  of 
earlier  history,  witness  the  pleasant  legend  about  Dionysius,  the  Areopagite  : 
how  he  had  stood  among  a  group  of  pLilosopLers,  in  Egypt,  at  tLe  time 
of  tLe  supernatural  darkness,  occurring  during  our  Saviour's  crucifixion,  and 
exclaimed,  "  Either  the  frame  of  nature  is  about  to  dissolve,  or  the  God  of 
nature  is  suffering!"  —  a  story  which  the  eloquent  Saurin.  having  examined 
its  claims,  has  told  us,  dies  "pierced  by  a  thousand  spears."  Indeed, 
nothing  is  more  common  than  fictitious  and  unfounded  exaggerations  gather- 
ing round  the  character  and  doings  of  great  and  good  men.  And  he  who 
undertakes  to  question  or  refute  such  things,  ought  not  to  be  branded  as 
inimical  or  unfriendly,  or  lacking  in  a  just  regard  to  their  reputation.  Yet 
blind  idolators  of  such  men  are  found  not  only  to  possess  an  easy  faith, 
ready  to  roceive  implicitly  every  exaggerated  tale,  but  to  denounce,  with 
bitterness,  all  who  do  not  possess  the  samo  ample  powers  of  deglutition. 
Very  far  from  such  a  character,  however,  is  Prof.  Patterson.  Though  he 
has  succeeded,  apparentl}-,  in  completely  satisfying  himself,   as  to   tie 

aess  of  the  old  current  traditions  about  the  "Log-Cabin,'*  and  the  origin 
of  Jefferson  Coll  _  -  with  kindness  and  respect  those  who  have 


THE   ORIGIN    OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE.  399 

horetofore  differed  from  him  in  their  viows.     His  paper,  iu  our  judgment, 

evinces  eminent  talents  and  earnest  zeal;  and  what  is  hotter  still,  a  kind, 
and  conciliatory  spirit.  After  a  careful  consideration  of  all  that  he  has 
adduced  in  support  of  the  several  conclusions  at  which  ho  has  arrived,  we 
cannot  yet  acknowledge  ourselves  convinced,  or,  in  some  particulars,  even 
shaken.  We  will  attempt  a  very  hrief  statement  of  the  matter,  as  it  still 
appears  to  us. 

1st.  Was  Jefferson  College  indebted  for  its  origin  to  the  "  Log-Cabin"  school 
at  Chartiers  ?  We  answer  that  the  true  facts  of  the  case  now  brought  to 
light,  as  given  in  our  introductory  chapter  of  this  work,  from  the  testimony 
of  Dr.  C.  Dodd,  and  Dr.  M'Millan  himself,  show  that  Dr.  M'Millan  and  his 
compeers,  Messrs.  Smith  and  Henderson,  together  with  Judges  M'Dowell, 
Allison,  and  others,  having  failed  to  resuscitate  the  Washington  Academy, 
after  the  disaster  of  tho  fire,  united  in  setting  on  foot  a  similar  institution  in 
the  village  of  Canonsburg,  encouraged  especially  by  the  effective  co-opera- 
tion of  Col.  Canon  ;  and  that  the  "  Log-Cabin"  school  had  nothing  to  do  in 
the  matter — though  the  contiguity  of  the  new  Academy  renderod  it  both  con- 
venient and  desirable  to  Dr.  M'Millan  to  suspend  the  further  continuance  of 
his  school.  The  discontinuance  of  the  "  Log-Cabin"  school  was  a  mere  inci- 
dental circumstance,  arising  from  tho  fact  that  a  good  Academy,  in  his  imme- 
diate neighborhood,  and  partly  through  his  agency,  was  now  under  way. 
If  Dr.  M'Millan  and  his  brethren  could  have  succeeded  with  the  Academy 
at  Washington,  does  any  one  believe  that  his  school,  in  that  event,  would 
have  had  an  outgrowth  into  another  Academy,  either  at  Canonsburg  or 
Chartiers  ?  It  is  probable,  indeed,  that  had  he  succeeded  in  his  wishes  at 
Washington,  he  would  not  so  soon  have  relinquished  tho  school  at  Chartiers. 
For  the  sake  of  poor  and  pious  young  men  boarding  with  him,  without  charge, 
or  in  the  neighborhood,  he  would  have  continued  the  school  a  while  longer. 
But  now  the  great  enterprise  which  had  been  commenced,  and  failed,  at 
Washington,  succeeded  by  their  all  uniting  upon  Canonsburg :  its  immediate 
vicinity  to  Dr.  M'Millan  brought  him  relief  from  what  he  felt  to  be  a  heavy 
charge  upon  his  time  and  his  resources,  and  an  interference  with  his  pastoral 
labors ;  and  whether  ho  gave  up  the  school  the  very  next  day,  or  a  week,  or 
a  month  after;  or  even  if  ho  had  closed  it  a  few  weeks  before,  in  tho  certain 
anticipation  of  planting  the  original  academical  enterprise  at  Canonsburg, 
does  not  make  the  smallest  difference — does  not  effect  tho  question  as  to  the 
succession  ;  unlets  it  be  such  a  succession  as  the  famous  case  of  the  Church 
Steeple  and  the  Goodwin  Sandbar !  If  any  thing  were  wanting  to  confirm 
the  view  we  have  now  given,  it  is  found  in  the  language  of  tho  second  memo- 
rial which  the  Trustees  sent  to  the  Legislature,  in  which  thoy  give  their 
account  of  the  origin  of  the  Academy,  but  make  not  the  remotest  allusion  to 
the  "  Log-Cabin"  school.  Let  the  reader  turn  to  this  paper  on  page  46  of 
this  work  and  soe  their  statement.  Now,  this  view  of  the  whole  case  does 
nof  derogate  one  iota  from  tho  true  honor  of  Dr.  M'Millan.     In  fact,  ever 


400  APPENDIX. 

since  we  have  more  fully  understood  what  ho  did  for  Washington  Academy, 
and  what  efforts  ho  mado  to  arouse  the  people  there  to  a  noble  and  united 
movement  for  their  Academy,  and  what  ho,  with  others,  then  proceeded  to 
do  at  Canonsburg,  we  cannot  but  wonder  that  any  concern  should  be  felt 
about  holding  on  to  the  story  of  the  old  "  Log-Cabin"  school  growing  into 
an  Academy.  But  then  it  is  asked,  what  are  we  to  do  with  tho  apparent 
endorsement  on  tho  part  of  tho  Doctor,  of  the  statement  put  forth  by  the 
Trustees  of  Jofferson  College,  in  July,  1833  ?  Why,  how  do  we  know  that 
he  endorsed  it  ?  He  may  not  have  seon  it  at  all  ;*  or  he  may  have  expressed 
his  dissent ;  or  ho  may  have  thought  it  not  worth  while  to  trouble  himself 
about  it.  We  know  just  nothing  at  all  about  the  matter.  And  shall  adran- 
tago  be  taken  of  our  ignorance  how  that  matter  really  was  ?  and  then,  for- 
sooth, his  endorsement  bo  claimed?  "Nay,  verily."  But,  then,  what  shall 
we  make  of  the  Doctor's  expression  in  1817?  "A  Latin  and  Greek  school 
which  ho  had  kept  at  his  own  house,  was  transferred  to  this  infant  Academy, 
tho  original  fountain  of  science  and  literature  in  these  western  States."  It 
is  urged  that  the  last  clause  refers  to  the  Latin  school,  and  proves  its  priority 
to  all  other  schools.  But  tho  natural  construction  of  the  passage  connects 
the  concluding  expression  with  tho  "infant  Academy."  We  have  no  doubt 
that  it  was  this  of  which  the  expression  was  used.  Is  it  necessary  to  go  fur- 
ther than  the  Canonsburg  Academy  ?  Would  the  previous  short  life  of  th* 
school  at  Washington,  for  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  months,  make  such  an 
expression  about  Canonsburg  Academy,  near  thirty  years  after  that  fountain 
began  to  flow,  and  at  length  to  enlarge  into  Jefferson  College,  objectionable 
or  untrue  ?  And  was  not  tho  priority  of  tho  Canonsburg  Acadomy  to  Jeffer- 
son College- tho  natural  occasion  of  the  expression,  "original  fountain?'' 
We  can  soo  no  reason  in  the  world  why  any  body  now  would  make  the 
"  Log-Cabin"  school  the  sire,  or  tho  grand-sire  of  Jefferson  College.  We 
know  tho  author  of  "  Old  lledstono"  can  be  quoted  as  favoring  this  view. 
But  then  the  author  did  not  know  all  tho  facts  in  the  case — facts  which  place, 
really,  greater  honor  on  Dr.  M'Millan,  than  the  old  theory. 

2d.  The  noxt  point  of  inquiry  which  we  will  briefly  consider  is  as  to  the 
character  of  Mr.  Smith's  school,  at  Buffalo.  For  we  are  put  to  the  proof  of 
its  very  existence  as  a  Latin  and  scientific  school.  It  is  useless  to  inquire 
about  its  precedence,  if  it  is  ruled  out  of  court  altogether.  It  is  true,  the 
new  theory  is  that  it  was  a  theological  school ;  and  as  in  that  character  it 
takes  the  precedence  of  grammar  schools,  academies,  and  even  colleges,  it 


*The  records  show  that  Dr.  M'Millan  was  not  present  at  that  meeting  of  the  Board. 
Even  the  Board  itself  probably  entrusted  tho  whole  matter  of  drawing  np  and  pub- 
lishing the  statement  to  their  secretary,  or  a  committee,  and  did  not  see  it  themselves 
till  it  was  published.  Further,  the  old  records  had  been  for  some  time  mislaid,  and 
were  supposed  to  bo  lost.  And  thus,'  who  proposed  that  paper  were  not  aware  that, 
their  own  records  contained  a  very  different  account  of  the  birth  of  the  Academy, 


THE    ORIGIN    OP   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE.  401 

tnight  be  supposed  that  this  would  be  sufficiently  satisfactory.  But  ire  are 
compelled  to  decline  that  honor — -at  least  as  to  its  distinctive  character — for 
the  Buffalo  school.  Now  to  maintain  that  this  school  was  altogether  different 
from  the  Ten  Mile  or  the  Chartiers  school,  and,  in  fact,  was  no  such  school 
at  all ;  and  yet  further  maintain  that  it  succeeded  both  these  schools,  is  cer- 
tainly a  work  of  supererogation,  for  who  does  not  know  that  theological 
echoote  presuppose  other  and  previous  literary  institutions  ?  But  this  new 
method  of  considering  the  caso,  put6  one  in  much  the  same  condition  with 
the  plaintiff  who  sought  to  recover  damages  from  a  man  for  breaking  his 
borrowed  kettle,  and  who  was  astonished  to  find  the  defendant's  counsel 
making  three  points  in  his  defence  :  1st.,  that  the  kettle  was  cracked  when 
borrowed ;  2d.,  was  sound  when  returned,  and  3d.,  was  never  borrowed  at 
all !  But  seriously,  was  Mr.  Smith's  school  like  the  others,  or  was  it  simply 
a  Divinity  Hull  ■ 

(1.)  The  Rev.  Joseph  Patterson's  language  in  his  memorandum  ("  Old 
Redstone,"  p.  81,  quoted  by  Prof.  Patterson.)  clearly  implies  that  it  was,  in 
part,  at  least,  literary  and  scientific.  Or  why  should  he  speak  of  there  being 
"no  places  of  public  education?"  Does  he  not  obviously  mean  academies, 
colleges,  &c.  ?  This  seems  to  us  the  natural  meaning  of  his  expressions. 
And,  if  so,  it  settles  the  question. 

(2.)  The  Rev.  Robert  Patterson,  in  his  letter  to  Dr.  Brown,  in  1345.  as 
quoted  also  by  Prof.  Patterson,  after  stating  that  some  of  the  Presbyterian 
clergymen  were  in  the  habit  of  giving  instruction  in  the  languages  and 
sciences  to  young  men,  proceeds  to  mention  by  name  Messrs.  Smith  and 
M'Millan  :  and  makes  no  distinction  whatever,  in  respect  to  the  character  of 
their  schools.     This  testimony  we  regard  as  perfectly  conclusive. 

(?>.)  Dr.  Cephas  Dodd  testifies  to  an  agreement  between  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Thaddeus  Dodd  aud  Joseph  Smith,  to  superintend,  alternately,  the  education 
of  certain  young  men,  and  plainly  implying  that  their  instructions  were  of 
a  similar  nature — that  their  schools  were,  so  far  as  such  young  men  were 
concerned,  alike.  The  testimony  of  Dr.  Lindley.  Mr.  John  M'Millan,  Mrs. 
Harper,  Mrs.  Park,  &c,  we  regard  as  of  no  weight  whatever  on  this  partic- 
ular point.  By  such  testimony,  or  testimony  equally  strong,  we  could  anni- 
hilate the  Ten  Mile  school,  as  a  Latin  school,  altogether.  But  it  is  alleged 
that  the  author  of  "  Old  Redstone,"  has  admitted  that  the  Buffalo  school  was 
not  a  Latin  school.  The  remark  in  "  Old  Redstone,"  page  146,  that  Mr. 
Smith's  school  at  Buffalo  "  may  have  been  the  first  with  a  more  special  and 
exclusive  reference  to  the  training  of  young  men  for  the  service  of  the 
church,"  was  certainly  not  meant  to  convey  the  idea  that  it  was  rather  theo- 
logical than  literary;  but  only  that  it  was  of  a  legs  mixed  character  than 
the  Ten  Mile  school,  and  more  exclusively  with  a  view  of  educating,  in  their 
literary  and  scientific  course,  candidates  for  the  ministry. 

(4.)  Mrs.  Irwin's  testimony  is  fully  to  this  character  of  the  school.  She 
certainly  meant  that  it  preceded  just  such  a  school  as  that  at  Chartiers, 

34* 


402  ArrEttbiX. 

however  mistaken  she  may  have  been  on  the  question  of  precedence.  And 
her  competency  as  a  witness  to  this  extent,  though  not  important,  maybe 
admitted  when  other  witnesses,  much  inferior,  on  this  point,  have  been  called 
into  court. 

(J.)  The  Rev.  William  Wylie,  D.  D.,  now  in  his  eighty-fourth  year,  was 
born  and  'Drought  up  in  Buffalo,  not  far  from  Mr.  Smith's;  and  must  have 
been  In  his  twelfth  or  thirteenth  year,  in  the  fall  of  1785.  He  says,  in  a 
letter  dated  March  13th,  1807:  "That  school  was  certainly  occupied  in 
furnishing  young  men  with  a  classical  education,  more  than  in  giving  eccle- 
siastical instruction.  I  believe  the  testimony  you  have  given  the  public 
from  Mrs.  Irwin  is  fully  entitled  to  credit^  interwoven  as  it  is  with  many  of 
the  interesting  scenes  of  her  youth,  and  kept  almost  continually  in  view  by 
the  recollection  of  the  many  things  with  which  these  events  were  associated.'1 
The  second  point,  thon,  wo  think,  is  clearly  and  finally  settled.  Uut  now  as 
to  the  third  point. 

3d.  Where  was  the  first  school  for  training  young  men  in  a  literary  and 
scientific  course,  and  especially  for  the  gospel  ministry  ?  The  author  of  the 
paper  before  us  has  evidently  taken  considerable  pains  to  collect  a  mass 
cf  testimony  in  favor  of  the  "Log-Cabin"  school.  And  ho  has  certainly 
evinced  much  ability  in  arranging  it.  and  bringing  it  out  in  its  full  strength. 
Perhaps  he  will  be  thought  right  in  the  conclusion  which  he  has  reached. 
If  so,  we  are  not  in  the  least  troubled  on  that  account.  Truth,  not  victory, 
should  be  our  aim.  "Fiat  justitia,  mat  cesium."  But  "audi  alteram 
partem ;"  and  let  us  just  observe  that  thero  aro  some  facts  which  seem  to  us 
stubborn,  and  not  easily  explained  in  harmony  with  tho  entire  extent  of 
Prof.  Patterson's  conclusions.     AVe  will  briefly  state  them. 

(1.)  It  is  a  fact  that  tho  Piev.  Robert  Patterson  made  the  following  state- 
ment, in  his  general  narrative  of  his  reminiscences,  about  the  early  educa- 
tional enterprises  —  which  ho  drew  up  at  the  request  of  I>r.  M.  Brown  I 
"  Between  1780  and  1790,  and  chiefly  in  the  latter  part  of  these  ten  years, 
pome  of  the  few  Proshyterian  clergymen  living  west  of  the  mountains  in 
Pennsylvania,  wore  in  tho  habit  of  giving  instruction  in  the  Languages  and 
Sciences  to  young  men  whose  object  in  their  studies  was  the  gospel  ministry. 
Tho  Rev.  Messrs.  Joseph  Smith  and  John  M'Millan  were  distinguished  in 
their  devotion  to  this  cause.  They  both  settled  in  congregations  in  Washing- 
ton county,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Smith  had  a  small  building  erected  in  a 
corner  of  the  garden,  called  'the  students'  room/  too  small  to  be  dignified 
with  the  name  of  a  hall.  And  Mr.  M'Millan  had  a  small  log-cabin  built, 
liear  his  log  dwolling  house,  known  to  this  day  by  the  appellation  of  tho 
' Log-Cabin.'  In  theso  primitive  seminaries.  &o."  Here  is  certainly  a 
Etatement  from  an  important  witness  —  by  far  the  most  competent,  in  the 
judgment  of  Dr.  Carnahan,  on  tho  subject.  For  ho  expressly  tells  Prof. 
Patterson  that  his  father  is,  perhaps,  "the  beat  living  witnen  in  regard  to 
the    origin    of   Latin   schools    west    of  the  mountains ;"    and    he  gives  his 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE.       408 

Masons  for  so  regarding  him.  Now,  in  the  above  statement,  carefully  made 
at  his  leisure,  in  his  study,  without  the  presence  of  any  one  putting  ques- 
tions to  him,  or  by  any  possibility  guiding  hiin  unconsciously  in  any 
particular  direction  —  this  "best  living  witness"  says  "between  17S0  and 
1790,  and  chiefly  in  the  latter  part  of  these  ten  years,  (that  is  between  178.3 
and  1790,)  some  few  Presbyterian  clergymen,  &c."  Would  not  any  one 
who  is  not  strongly  committed  to  a  foregone  conclusion,  infer  that  according 
to  the  best  of  Mr.  Patterson's  recollections  these  Latin  sckodh  were  opened 
during  and  after  178.3  ?  And  when  he  guts  on  Uoice  to  speak  first  of  Mr. 
Smith  and  his  school  —  that  his  impression  was  that  he  was  at  least  as  early 
is  any  other  in  this  movement?  that  his  school  did  not  follow  Dr.  M'Mil- 
lan's  ?  that  it  was,  at  any  rate,  quite  as  early  ?  Ho  shows,  also,  that  ho  had 
some  minute  and  particular  reminiscences  about  both  schools.  If  after  all, 
Dr.  M'Millan's  school,  as  a  Latin  school)  was  in  full  operation  five  years 
before  this  time,  could  he  have  been  ignorant  of  that  fact,  when  he 
evidently  knows  so  much  about  it,  in  other  respects  ?  And  if  he  was  not 
ignorant  of  the  earlier  origin  of  the  Log-Cabin  school,  how  can  wo  possibly 
explain  the  whole  passage  ?  If  he  had  desiyncd  to  ignore  the  earlier  origin 
of  Dr.  M'Millan's  school,  and  to  lead  us  completely  into  a  chronological 
error,  could  he  have  used  any  different  or  stronger  language  ?  In  lino,  we 
think  this  whole  statement  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Patterson  presents  a  serious 
objection  to  the  conclusions  which  the  Professor  has  adopted.  We  shall  not 
comment  upon  the  manner  in  which  the  Professor  disposes  of  this  testimony 
of  his  father.  We  think  that  here,  at  least,  he  signally  fails  in  his  attempt 
to  get  out  of  this  difficulty,  by  making  the  testimony,  in  effect,  the  very 
reverse  of  what  it  naturally  means. 

(2.)  The  Rev.  Joseph  Patterson's  memorandum  seems  to  us  fairly  to 
imply  not  only  that  thoro  were  no  colleges,  academies,  &c,  but  that  there 
were  no  similar  schools  or  seminaries  to  that  to  which  he  repaired.  If  there 
was  an  older  and  larger  institution,  thou,  at  Dr.  M'Millan's,  with  young  men 
preparing  for  the  ministry,  a  log-cabin,  Latin  school,  &c,  ho  would  not,  in 
our  judgment,  have  expressed  himself  just  as  he  did.  '•'  There  being  no 
places  of  public  education  in  this  country,  I,  with  a  few  others,  studied  with 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Smith." 

(3.)  The  statement  given  by  Mrs.  L~win  presents  a  strong  objection  to 
Prof.  Patterson's  conclusions ;  and  so  far  from  being  weakened  by  his  vig- 
orous attack,  has  rather  gathered  strength  from  the  critical  ordeal  through 
which  it  has  passed.  We  would  here  state  that  we  adopted  a  precisely  simi- 
lar course  to  that  described  in  Prof.  Patterson's  papei-,  in  the  case  of  Mrs. 
Park.  We  took  down  Mrs.  Irwin's  statement  immediately  after  the  inter- 
View.  Several  months  afterwards  we  enclosed  it  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith,  of 
Marysville.  requesting  him  to  read  it  to  her,  and  ascertain  whether  it  was  cor- 
rect. A  copy  of  this  letter  and  his  answer  are  before  us,  but  we  think  it 
unnecessary  to  insert  them.     The  result  was,  that  we  obtained  perfect  assu- 


404  APPENDIX. 

ranee  that  we  had  her  precise  statement  It  was  to  this  effect :  ''That  she 
was  between  twelve  and  fifteen  years  of  age,  Living  mar  Mr.  Smith's,  one 
of  his  spiritual  children,  took  a  great  interest  then  in  what  Mr.  Smith  did, 
in  this  matter,  and  all  her  )iJ"  after,  familiarly  remembered  the  following 
facte,  viz.-  that  in  1786,  Mr.  Smith,  of  Buffalo  and  Cross  Creek  eongrega* 
lions,  opened  a  school  for  assisting  and  training  young  men  for  tho  gospel 
ministry;  thai  Mr.  McGready,  Mr.  Brice,  Mr.  Porter,  and  Mr.  Patterson, 
began  their  courso  with  him,  Mr.  James  Hughs  soon  after  joining  them  ;  that 
Mr.  McGready  came  from  Dr.  M'Millan's,  with  whom  he  had  been  living, 
not  as  a  student,  but  as  a  laborer  on  his  farm;  that  live  congregations, 
through  the  ladies,  united  in  furnishing  these  students  (with  the  exception 
of  Mr.  McGready)  with  clothing,  viz  :  Buffalo,  Cross  Creek,  Chartiers,  Bethel 
and  Ten  Mile;  that  they  made  up  summer  and  winter  clothing  for  several 
of  these  young  men,  (coloring  linen  for  summer  wear  in  a  dye  made  of  new 
mown  hay;)  that  this  was  the  first  movement  made  for  preparing  young  men 
for  the  ministry;  that  there  was  no  such  school  at  this  time  at  Chartiers,  nor 
until  after  the  one  at  Buffalo  was  discontinued;  that  Mr.  M'Millan  and  tho 
Chartiers  ladies  took  their  share  in  this  effort  to  sustain  the  school  at  Buffalo, 
Mr.  McGready  coming  from  Dr.  M'Millan's  to  the  school."  Now,  this  entire 
statement,  which  is  only  partially  given  in  the  paper  under  review,  contains 
some  remarkable  points.  In  tho  first  place,  its  singular,  yet  wholly  unde- 
signed coincidence  with  the  statements  of  tho  Rev.  Messrs.  Joseph  Pattt  rson 
and  Robert  Patterson,  are  especially  worthy  of  notice.  The  three  statements 
taken  together  form  a  threefold  cord,  not  easily  broken.  This  is  an  element 
of  its  strength  not  heretofore  noticed.  In  the  second  place,  her  minute  and  cir- 
cumstantial account  of  the  concerted  measures  taken  in  all  the  congregations 
for  sustaining  the  school,  could  not  possibly  have  been  a  mere  fiction  of  her 
fancy.  It  must  have  been  so.  And  it  proves  not  only  how  clear  was  her 
memory  in  the  case,  but  that  it  is  exceedingly  unlikely  that  at  the  sauie  time 
there  was  a  similar  school  at  Chartiers.  In  the  third  place,  the  specific  state- 
ment that  Mr.  McGready  came  from  Dr.  M'Millan's  to  this  school,  carries 
with  it  great  force,  as  proving  that  a  similar  school  was  not  then  in  operation 
nt  Chartiers.  Tn  the  fourth  place,  Mrs.  Irwin's  qualifications  as  a  witness  in 
the  case,  are  thoroughly  endorsed  by  her  minister  and  Dr.  Wylie.  But  her 
testimony  has  been  assailed,  first  because  she  knew,  or  at  least  s.iid,  nothing 
about  the  Ten  Mile  school ;  and  even  the  author  of  "  Old  Bedstone"  is  repre- 
sented as  "entirely  having  set  it  aside,"  on  this  account.  Now  this  is  a 
sheer  mistake.  Tho  fact  of  her  silence  in  reference  to  Mr.  Dodd's  school,  is 
distinctly  recognized  and  accounted  for.  The  truth  is,  Mrs.  Irwin  ignores 
that  school  precisely  in  the  same  way  that  Mr,  Doddridge,  nearly  forty  years 
before,  in  his  "  Notes  on  the  Lift  and  Manners  of  the  Western  Settlers." 
giving  an  account  of  the  first  movements  in  the  cause  of  education,  ignored 
it  :  and  just  as  Rev.  Messrs.  Joseph  Patterson  and  Robert  Patterson  also  both 
ignored  it.     When  not  one  of  theso  made  tho  least  allusion  expressly  to  the 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  JEFFERSON  COLLEGE.       405 

Ten  Mile  school,  it  is  not  strange  that  Mrs.  Irwin  does  not.  But.  in  the  sec- 
ond place,  it  is  thought  that  the  error  she  committed  about  Mr.  McGready 
being  a  laborer  on  Dr.  M'Millan's  farm  vitiates  her  whole  testimony.  (The 
legal  maxim  is,  "  Faints  in  ttno,/alstts  in  omnibus /'  not  "ignarus  in  it  no, 
ignarus  in  omnibus.")  Much  pains  are  taken  to  refute  this  statement ;  and 
the  testimony  of  Mrs.  Harper  and  Mrs.  Park  is  adduced  to  show  how  utterly 
erroneous  it  was  :  and  quite  an  eloquent  and  moving  representation  is  given 
of  the  odious  light  in  which  it  places  Dr.  M'Millan — how  that  he,  forgetting 
or  disregarding  the  injunction  of  his  preceptor,  Dr.  Smith,  of  Pequea,  for 
near  ten  years  took  a  young  man  that  had  been  sent  to  him  all  the  way  from 
North  Carolina,  in  order  that  he  might  train  and  educate  him  for  the  minis- 
try, and  set  him  to  -work  for  him  on  his  farm  !  Now,  we  have  no  doubt,  this 
■was  a  mistake,  or  an  inadvertence  on  the  part  of  Mrs.  Irwin.  And  yet  it 
was  not  strange  that  she  made  such  a  statement.  About  that  unimportant 
circumstance,  she  had  heard  what  was  true,  in  part,  at  that  time,  viz  :  that 
Mr.  McGready  -was  not  then  engaged  in  regular  study;  but  was  known  or 
seen  to  be,  sometimes,  at  the  Doctor's,  aiding  in  farming  operations — at 
least  in  looking  after  the  Doctor's  affairs  in  his  absence,  as  Mrs.  Harper 
admits.  The  position  of  Mr.  McGready,  at  that  time,  is  no  doubt  correctly 
given  by  those  ladies.  We  will  further  add,  that  we  have  learned,  from  a 
very  intelligent  source,  that  Mr.  McGready,  during  the  summer  of  1785, 
took  the  small-pox  and  lay  very  low  for  some  time,  so  that  his  life  was  nearly 
despaired  of — that  he  slowly  recovered,  and  that  the  first  time  he  was  able 
to  go  abroad,  he  attended  a  sacramental  meeting  in  the  Mingo  Creek  settle- 
ment, where  Mr.  Smith  was  assisting  Dr.  M'Millan  on  the  occasion  ;  and  that 
under  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Smith,  Mr.  McGready  was  brought  under  deep 
spiritual  exercises  of  mind,  which  resulted  in  a  hearty  surrender  of  himself 
to  his  Saviour  and  his  service ;  that  he  continued  to  regain  his  health  and 
strength,  but  was  still  unable,  for  some  time,  to  apply  himself  to  regular 
studies.  On  the  opening  of  Mr.  Smith's  school,  he  repaired  to  Buffalo.  He 
had  already  made  some  progress  in  his  preparatory  course,  even  before  he 
left  North  Carolina:  and  whilst  teaching  the  English  school  for  Dr.  M'Mil- 
lan, of  which  Mrs.  Harper  testifies,  for  she  was  his  pupil.  He  prosecuted  hi3 
studies  with  Dr.  M'Millan,  just  as  others  did,  both  before  and  after  this  time  ; 
but  there  being  no  regular  arrangement  for  classical  studies  at  Chartiers,  he 
went,  no  doubt  with  the  consent  of  Dr.  M'Millan,  to  Buffalo.  Now,  this 
circumstance  of  his  going  to  Buffalo,  which  is  not,  and  cannot  be  called  in 
question,  is  a  strong  presumptive  evidence  that,  as  Mrs.  Irwin  says.  "  there 
was  no  such  school,  at  this  time,  at  Chartiers."  There  is  not  any  force,  in 
our  judgment,  in  the  attempt^to  show  that  Mrs.  Irwin's  statement  would 
involve  a  reflection  on  Dr.  M'Millan,  as  having  neglected  the  injunction  of 
his  old  teacher,  Dr.  Smith.  We  have  no  doubt,  that  as  soon  as  ever  the 
great  revival  (which  began  in  the  fall  of  1781,  and  continued  with  signal 
power  the  following  year,)  brought  out  a  number  of  pious,  devoted  young 


406  APPENDIX. 

men,  Dr.  M'Millan  took  measures  to  help  them  in  their  studies  for  the  min- 
istry. But  scarcely  any  of  these  fruits  of  the  revival  were  brought  out  in 
his  pastoral  charge,  though,  in  other  respects,  the  results  of  this  blessed  sea- 
son were  most  abundant,  both  in  Chartiers  and  Pigeon  Creek.  But  though, 
in  Bubsequeni  years,  many  ministers  were  raised  up  in  these  congregations, 
it  v\  rts  not  so  during  the  first  eight  or  ninety  ears  of  the  Doctor's  ministry. 
Facts  and  records  will  clearly  show  this.  Notwithstanding,  we  have  no 
doubt  that  Dr.  M'Millan  opened  the  way  and  welcomed  to  his  house  any  that 
desired  to  receive  his  instructions.  Bui  Jho  "  Latin  School"  was  not,  as  we 
think,  the  prominent  matter  from  the  beginning.  His  English  school  was 
early  organized,  and  generally  taught  by  those  who  were  reciting,  at  his  own 
house,  to  himself,  in  languages  and  sciences.  And  occasionally  ono  or  more 
students  of  the  same  description  were  also  with  him,  besides  the  teachers ; 
such,  perhaps,  as  Abraham  Scott.* 

(4.)  Dr.  Carnahan's  statement,  though  in  part  "of  a  derivative  character," 
furnishes  much  support  to  the  testimony  of  the  witnesses  already  cited.  It 
is  true,  that  the  greater  part  of  what  Dr.  Carnahan  states,  ho  got  from  Mr. 
Wilkins.  But  he  shows  how  much  weight  is  to  be  attached  to  Mr.  Wilkins' 
account.  Dr.  Carnahan  regarded  him  as  an  intelligent  man,  and  perfectly 
reliable.  For  ho  had  lived  with  Dr.  M'Millan  during  the  very  period  under 
consideration  —  during  the  time  that  Mr.  Boss  was  there.  He  knew  all 
about  Mr.  Boss,  and  his  family,  anil  his  former  history.  He  expresslj'  stated 
to  Dr.  Carnahan  that  Mr.  Boss  was  engaged  to  teach  the  Doctor's  children, 
and  those  of  tho  neighborhood,  while  he  himself  studied  Latin  with  tho 
Doctor.  This  gentleman  remembered  nothing  of  James  Hughs,  John  Briee, 
B.  Marshall  and  others  studying  Latin  and  Greek  there.  At  least  Dr.  Car- 
nahan does  not  remember  that  ho  ever  spoke  of  them.  But  the  strongest 
point  in  Dr.  Carnahan's  testimony  is,   that  he   never  heard  any  thing  at 


•  That  Mr. Dodd  and  Mr.  Smith  should  have  a  little  preceded  Dr.  M'Millan  in  the 
cause  of  classical  instruction  is  not  only  probable,  from  local  causes,  viz:  that  those 
who  first  begin  to  look  forward  to  the  ministry  wen'  principally  residing  in  their 
Congregations;   butalsofrom  the  prominent  I    these   two  ministers.     A 

decided  turn  for  energetic  action  and  for  devising  measures  promptly  for  carrying  on 
the  great  interests  of  the  church,  characterized  these  men.  On  the  other  hand,  Dr. 
U'MiUan's  mind  was  eminently  conservative.  He  was  wise  in  counsel.  He  was  an 
able  defender  of  the  "  old  paths."  His  mind  was  not  of  the  inventive  order,  lie  was 
not  ecclesiastically  a  De  Witt  Clinton  or  a  Eenrj  <  lay,  bat  much  more  a  John  Mar- 
shall, lie  was  not  the  Luther  or  Calvin  of  the  West,  1  nl  rather  the  MdcmcQum,  or 
the  Turretine,  or  the  B  He  did  nol  orlgii  ..i  ■  01  lead  forward  the  missionary  move- 

menl  in  behalf  of  the  western    Indians.     That   honor  must   he  assigned   t"   .Messrs. 

Macurdy,  James  and  Thomas  1 1  u_rlis.  Marquis,  and  others.  So  some  of  those  men, 
with  Dr.  Anderson,  led  the  way  in    the  temp  ■  ml  in  the   Sunday  scluxA 

cause:    The  posl  unanimously  assigned  to  Dr.   M'Millan  was  to  give   theological 

instruction,  and,  for  more  than  thirty  years,  to  aid  in  training  young  men,  for  tb-dr 
great  work  of  preaching  the  everlasting  gospel. 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE.  407 

variance  with  this  general  account  during  all  the  time  that  he  lived  at 
Oanonsburg. — nor  until  he  met  with  a  different  view,  given  by  his  old 
friend,  Dr.  M.  Brown,  and  even  then  he  could  recall  nothing  that  shook  his 
confidence  in  Mr.  Wilkins'  statement.*  Prof.  Patterson,  besides  describing 
this  testimony  as  ''of  a  derivative  character,"'  (and  therefore  more  closely 
resembling  a  large  mass  of  his  own  testimony.)  has  taken  several  exceptions 
to  this  statement  of  Dr.  Carnahan.  But  we  shall  not  attempt  to  follow  him 
in  his  criticisms.  We  hope  the  reader  will  give  them  all  the  force  they 
merit.  Neither  do  we  think  it  necessary  to  travel  over  the  whole  ground  in 
company  with  Prof.  Patterson's  witnesses,  many  of  whom  we  know  are  of 
the  most  respectable  character.  The  testimony  of  Dr.  McMillan's  children 
claims  very  great  respect  The  statements  of  the  late  venerable  Mr.  John 
M'Millan,  about  what  he  heard  his  father  say,  are  certainly  strong.  But  it 
would  not  be  difficult  to  show  how  they  might  all  be  accounted  for,  without, 
in  the  slightest  degree,  impeaching  the  veracity  of  either  father  or  son,  and 
yet  leaving  the  general  conclusion  supported  by  such  witnesses  as  Rev. 
Robert  Patterson,  Rev.  Joseph  Patterson,  Mrs.  Irwin,  Mr.  Wilkins,  and  Dr. 
Wylie,  unshaken.  And  so  with  regard  to  the  testimony  of  the  late  Mrs. 
Jane  Harper,  f     Her  testimony,  indeed,  is   a  little  on  both  sides ;  for  she 

*  The  entire  statement  of  Dr.  Carnahan,  as  given  by  Prof.  Patterson,  was  read  over 
slowly  and  distinctly  to  Dr.  Addison,  of  Pittsburgh,  son  of  the  distinguished  Judge 
Addison,  and  one  of  Mr.  Koss'  executors  by  bis  will,  and  who  is  known  to  be  more 
intimately  acquainted  with  Mr.  Eoss"  history  than  any  one  now  living.  He  assured 
us  tbat  Dr.  Carnahan's  account  might  be  fully  relied  on  as  perfectly  true.  In  his 
vivacious  manner  he  added  :  '•  It  is,  every  word  of  it,  gospel."  He  further  confirmed 
Dr.  Carnahan"s  account  of  Mr.  Kosr'  scholarship.  He  likewise  confirmed  Mr.  Wilkins' 
statement  of  the  earlier  history  of  Mr.  Eoss :  and  further  related  the  circumstance 
that  accounted  for  Mr.  Ross?  sudden  and  almost  instantaneous  rise  at  the  bar.  as  scon 
as  he  commenced  practice  as  a  lawyer. 

f  This  venerable  lady  has  recently  died.  In  an  obituary  notice,  published  in  the 
"Banner  and  Advocate,'"  respecting  Mrs.  Jane  narper,  widow  of  the  late  Samuel 
Harper,  Esq.,  and  eldest  daughter  of  the  late  Eev.  John  M'Millan,  D.  D..  it  is  stated, 
(the  italics  are  ours,):  '-Mrs.  Harper  passed  through  eventful  times  in  the  civil  and 
religious  history  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  of  much  of  which  her  mind  was  an 
accurate  repository,  <fcc.  She  had  a  kind  remembrance  of  James  Eoss  and  James 
McGready  —  the  former  of  whom  roeame  an  eminent  lawyer  and  statesmen  ;  the 
latter  a  renowned  Evangelist  and  pastor  in  Kentucky.  They  had  lived  in  her 
fathers  family,  and  had  been  hrr  teachers.  The  former  had  taught  a  Latin  and  English 
school  in  a  log-cabin,  near  h<r  father's  house,  while  he  was  pursuing  his  legal 
studies ;  which  of  course  was  prior  to  17S4,  for  in  that  year  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  entered  at  once  upon  a  large  practice.  Mrs.  narper  always  asserted  that 
those  annalists  of  the  Western  church,  who  postpone  her  father's  log-cabin  school  to 
a  later  date  then  those  of  the  Eev.  Joseph  Smith,  on  Buffalo,  and  Eev.  Thaddeua 
Dodd,  on  Ten-Mile,  are  in  error.  She  said  her  father's  was  started  before  either 
of  them,  in  a  rude  log-cabin,  near  the  house,  which  was  soon  afterwards  burnt  down  : 
whereupon  Mr  Bobs  left,  and  all  thr  pupils  except  Mr.  M'Gready,  \cho  remained  in 


408  APPENDIX. 

remembers  about  Dr.  M'Millan's  English  school,  and  who  taught,  it,  <tc. 
But  the  most  important  witness  is  tho  venerable  Mrs.  Park.  That  she,  at 
the  age  of  eighty-five,  has  given  tho  honest  impressions  which  she  recalled 
of  her  childhood  and  youth,  we  have  not  tho  smallest  doubt.  It  has  seemed 
to  us,  however,  that  she  has  blended  the  reminiscences  of  different  dates  in 
such  a  manner,  that,  in  a  way  perfectly  natural,  she  has  thrown  back  upon 
earlier  years  impressions  of  later  periods.  We  appeal  to  all  who  have  been 
conversant  with  very  aged  persons,  whether  this  has  not  often  been  noticed. 
It  is  also  surprising  to  find  that  her  memory  fails  on  certain  particulars, 
when  wo  might  have  expected  as  much  distinctness  of  recollection  as  in 
other  eases.  She  remembers  nothing  of  Mr.  Ross  being  a  scholar  as  well 
as  a  teacher  —  nothing  of  Mr.  McGready's  teaching- — nothing  of  Dr. 
M'Millan's  English  school.  Her  impressions  about  certain  young  men  may 
possibly  belong  to  a  period  a  few  years  later  than  she  supposes.*  Her  entire 
testimony  about  tho  books  and  about  the  Latin  school  ma}-  easily  bo 
accounted  for  in  the  same  way.  It  seems  to  us,  indeed,  that  her  testimony 
warrants  the  conclusion  that  clasical  studies  were,  at  an  early  period, 
pursued  by  different  persons  at  the  Doctor's  own  house,  and  sometimes  by 
the  assistance  of  the  teacher,  such  may  have  been  the  case  in  reference  to 
Mr.  Ross.  As  to  the  testimony  of  tho  Hon.  II.  M.  Braekenridge —  of  tho 
children  of  George  White,  (who  went  to  qualify  himself  to  teach  an  English 
school,)  of  Dr.  Colver,  Ac,  <fcc,  we  are  perfectly  willing  to  admit  that  much 
of  it  is  forcible — though  "of  a  derivative  character,"  and  that  taken 
together  it  makes  out  a  plausible,  perhaps  a  strong  case,  f  We  cannot  close 
this  paper  without  a  few  additional  remarks.  Tho  argument  from  tho 
silence  of  the  record  of  Redstone  Presbytery  is  apparently  misunderstood; 


the  family,  and  worked  mi  the,  farm,  until  Mr.  Smith  stilted  his  school,  where  ho 
went  then.  A  few  years  afterwards  another  log-cabin  for  the  school  was  erected  and 
its  labors  resumed,  this  being  tho  one  upon  which  the  chroniclers  referred  to  based 
their  statements.  Such  briefly  is  her  explanation  of  the  cm-rent  anachronism,  as 
given  to  the  writer  of  this  a  few  months  before  her  death."  This  entire  statement 
lends  strong  confirmation,  in  our  judgment,  to  the  view  we  have  taken  about  the 
earlier  character  of  Dr.  M'Millan's  school,  and  the  trif  date  of  the  Latin  school. 

*  "I  think  Mrs.  Harper  was  mistaken  in  the  time  she  says  D.  Smith,  McGready, 
and  Brice  were  at  Dr.  M'Millan's  Log-Cabin." — 1!>  v.  l>r.  Wylie.  in  leth  r  above  cit-:d. 

f  Some  estimate  may  be  formed,  perhaps,  of  the  weight  to  be  attached  to  tho 
greater  part  of  all  the  testimony  which  Prof,  Patterson  has  collected:  and  to  the 
present  current  traditions  about  CanODSbUTg,  if  We  only  consider  how  every  ooo 
of  these  witnesses  would  bare  answered  the  question  :  -Did  Jefferson  College 
originate  in  the  '  I*  g-Cabin'  school?"  "Ts  this,  to  the  best  of  your  knowledge,  the 
prevailing  tradition  and  opinion  around  Canonsburg?"  Mould  not  both  these 
questions  be  answered  promptly  and  unanimously  in  the  affirmative?  And  yet  does 
not  every  one  now  see  from  the  testimony  of  Dr.  C.  Dodd,  and  of  Dr.  M'Millau  him- 
self, as  already  given,  that  this  was  not  the  rase  f 


THE   ORIGIN   OF  JEFFERSON    COLLEGE.  409 

&nd  the  attempt  to  refute  it  misses  the  point  at  issue.  But  before  we  bring 
this  distinctly  to  view,  we  must  first  clear  the  way  a  little.  Let  it  then  be 
remembered  that  it  is  claimed  for  Dr.  M'Millan,  that  in  pursuance  of  the 
injunction  of  Dr.  Smith  of  Pequea,  he  immediately  after  his  settlement  west 
of  the  mountains,  sought  out  some  suitable  young  men  and  began  to  train 
them  in  Latin  and  Greek,  &c,  —  there/ore  his  Latin  school  must  have 
preceded  all  others.  It  is  replied,  in  the  first  place,  that  Dr.  M'Millan's 
account  of  that  charge  of  his  old  preceptor  justifies  no  such  construction  of 
it  as  is  now  attempted  to  be  given  to  it.  Let  it  again  be  carefully  examined, 
and  we  are  confident  this  will  be  seen.  In  the  second  place,  Dr.  M'Millan's 
statement,  in  his  letter  to  Dr.  Carnahan,  of  what  he  actually  proceeded  to  do 
in  order  to  carry  out  that  charge,  gives  no  intimation  of  the  precise  time 
when  he  succeeded  in  accomplishing  this  object.  It  is  altogether  an 
inference,  arising  from  a  foregone  conclusion, — to  make  it  refer  to  the  first 
years  of  Dr.  M'Millan's  settlement.  But  further  we  allege,  in  reply,  that 
when  Dr.  M'Millan  states  in  his  manuscript  what  he  does  not  state  in  his 
letter  to  Dr.  Carnahan,  who  those  were  that  he  thus  gathered  around  him  to 
train  and  instruct,  he  mentions  several  persons  who  had  been  previously 
with  Mr.  Dodd  and  Mr.  Smith,  and  does  not  give  the  name  of  a  single  one 
mat  preceded  them.  His  language  in  this  manuscript,  which  is  dated 
January,  1832,  from  which  he  copies  extensively,  but  not  entirely,  in  his 
letter  to  Dr.  Carnahan,  written  two  months  after,  viz  :  March  26th,  is 
precisely  this  :  "  When  I  determined  to  come  to  this  country,  Dr.  Smith 
enjoined  it  upon  me  to  look  out  for  some  pious  young  men,  and  educate  them 
for  the  ministry  :  for,  said  he,  though  some  men  of  piety  and  talents  may  go 
to  a  new  country  at  first,  yet  if  they  are  not  careful  to  raise  up  others,  the 
country  will  not  be  well  supplied.  Accordingly  I  collected  a  few,  who  gave 
evidence  of  piety,  and  instructed  them  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Latin  and 
Greek  languages,  some  of  whom  became  useful,  and  others  eminent,  ministers 
of  the  gospel,  viz  :  James  Hughs,  John  Brice,  James  MeGready,  William 
Swan,  Samuel  Porter  and  Thomas  Marquis.  All  these  I  boarded  and 
taught,  without  any  compensation,  except  about  forty  dollars  which  Mr. 
Jr'wan  gave  to  my  wife  after  he  was  settled  in  the  ministry.  I  had  still  a 
few  with  me  when  the  academy  was  opened  in  Canousburg,  and  finding 
that  I  could  not  teach  and  do  justice  to  my  congregation,  I  immediately 
gave  it  up  and  sent  them  there.  For  an  account  of  the  revirals  of  religion, 
which  took  place  in  the  congregation,  I  must  refer  you  to  the  Western 
Missionary  Magazine,  vol.  2d,  page  353."  Now,  this  is  the  record  from 
which  the  Doctor  gave  only  a  part,  or  an  extract,  in  his  letter  written  two 
j  months  afterwards  to  Dr.  Carnahan.  The  italics  are  ours.  We  again  affirm, 
I  that  it  contains  not  a  syllable  to  show  that  Dr.  Smith  meant  that  he  would 
I  have  Dr.  M'Millan  to  begin,  forthwith,  his  efforts  for  training  young  men — 
I  but  only  that  Dr.  M'Millan  should  keep  this  object  in  view,  and  in  due  time 
,   when  the  waj  would  be  open,  that  he  should  proceed  in  this  good  work. 

35 


410  APPENDIX. 

And  we  further  affirm,  that  it  contains  not  a  syllable  to  show  that  Dr. 
M'Millan  put  any  other  construction  upon  it;  and  further  still  it  shows, 
when  he  did  set  about  this  matter,  what  he  did  and  how  he  proceeded,  and 
with  whom  he  began  the  whole  enterprise.  By  his  saying :  "  accordingly  I 
collected  a  few,  who  gave  evidence  of  piety,  and  some  of  whom  became 
useful,  Ac,  viz :  James  Hughs,  John  Brico,"  Ac.  we  are  fully  warranted  in 
saying  that  he  speaks  of  these  as  a  part  of  his  first  students.  If  this  con- 
struction is  not  sustained  by  the  whale  drift  of  the  passage,  we  are  altogether 
at  fault.  Indeed,  it  seems  to  us  strange,  that  any  attempt  should  be  made 
to  prove  the  earlier  date  of  Dr.  M'Millan's  school  from  this  letter  to  Dr. 
Carnahan.  It  seems  to  assume  that  Dr.  M'Millan  was  charged  with 
beginning  an  enterprise,  without  any  consideration,  whether  there  wero 
materials  with  which  to  begin  it,  or  not. 

Again  it  is  suggested  that  his  school  must  have  been  before  1781 ;  for  it  ia 
urged  he  is  stating  things  in  chronological  order ;  and  he  introduces  his 
account  of  the  revivals,  which  began  that  year  after  his  account  of  hia 
school,  and  therefore  the  school  must  have  preceded  it.  And  yet  in  the  very 
sentence  before,  he  mentions  the  death  of  his  wife  in  1819;  a  statement 
manifestly  out  of  chronological  ordor.  Nor  can  it  bo  said  that  this  state- 
ment about  Mrs.  M'Millan's  death  was  introduced  in  connection  with  an 
account  of  his  marriage,  Ac.  For  he  had  mentioned  that  some  distance  back 
in  his  narrative.  And  after  that,  he  proceeded  to  tell  of  his  removal,  of  his 
Log-Cabin,  and  the  incidents  connected  with  his  beginning  house-keeping, 
Ac.  And  wo  have  alroady  quoted  from  his  manuscript  his  manner  of  referring 
to  the  revivals.  But  he  does  not,  as  in  his  lettor  to  Dr.  Carnahan,  give  u 
further  statement  about  them.  Indeed,  this  circumstance,  together  with 
other  peculiarities  about  the  manuscript,  its  date,  its  beginning  with  an 
account  of  the  Doctor's  family,  Ac,  load  us  to  believe  that  be  had  it  bi 
him  when  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Carnahan,  transcribing  some  parts,  altering  others, 
and  omitting  others.  That  important  "  viz.,"  in  the  passage  about  his  school 
is  not  in  his  letter  to  Dr.  Carnahan.  But  it  is  in  the  manuscript,  and  gives 
it  peculiar  point  and  significance.  Those  three  expressions — "  accordingly 
I  collected  a  few" — "some  of  whom" — "viz." — -arc  all  inseparably  joined, 
and  fully  bear  us  out  in  all  that  has  been  said  about  Dr.  M'Millan's  Idling 
us  with  whom  his  Latin  school  began.  Now,  it  was  in  '/iew  of  this  account 
of  the  matter  that  we  regard  the  silence  ol  thi   i       rd 

tery  as  very  significant,  and  confirming  our  construi  tion  c  f  what  Dr.  M'Mil- 
lan's account  means.  It  is  contended  by  oui  opponents  that  Dr.  Smith 
moant  that  Dr.  M'Millan  must  begin  what  he  had  enjoined  on  him  ver;.  si  on 
after  ho  would  Battle  in  the  West.  It  is  further  plead  that  Dr.  M'Millan  s^> 
understood  him,  and  so  did  proceed  "  to  look  out  for  some  pious  3  oui  g  ua  .1 
and  educate  them  for  the  ministry."  Now,  then,  confronting  all  this  strange 
construction  and  argument,  we  ask,  that  since  Dr.  M'Millan  settled  in  the 
Wost,  in  1778,  and  therefore  they  say,  soon  b*gau  his  Latin  school  for  piuua 


THE    ORIGIN    OF   JEFFERSON    COLLEGE.  411 

young  men,  how  comes  it  to  pass  that  we  hear  nothing  of  them,  nor  indeed 
of  any  young  men  coming  forward  to  put  themselves  under  the  care  of  the 
Presbytery,  till  August  15,  1756" — nearly  eight  years  after  Dr.  M'Millan 
settled  at  Chartiers  ?  We  think  that  if  he  were  really  training  young  men 
for  the  ministry,  for  some  years  before  this,  we  would  surely  find  it  our  by 
the  records  of  the  Redstone  Presbytery.  But  they  are  silent.  And  when 
they  do  proceed  to  tell  us  of  the  first  four  or  five  candidates,  it  seems  they 
were  first  students  at  Ten  Mile  and  Buffalo,  not  at  Chartiers.  We  really 
think  these  old  records  tell  a  very  straight-forward  story. 

We  are  aware  that  it  has  been  said,  and  testimony  introduced  to  prove  it, 
that  Messrs.  Brice  and  Hughs,  and  D.  Smith,  were  all  at  Dr.  M'Millan's 
before  they  were  at  Ten  Mile  or  Buffalo.  But  we  more  than  doubt  this  state- 
ment Wilkins  had  no  remembrance  of  them.  Neither  Dr.  Cephas  Dodd, 
nor  Dr.  Lindley,  nor  Dr.  Wvlie,  had  this  impression.  DT  D.  Smith  was 
there,  he  was  a  small  boy,  in  the  English  school  :  which  is  possible.  As  to 
as.  Brice  and  Hughs,  who  were  licensed  in  1788,  there  is  no  reason  to 
think,  that  in  those  times,  they  began  their  education  seven  or  eight  years 
before.  Mr.  McGready  was  not  out  from  North  Carolina  long  at  Dr.  M'Mil- 
lan's, before  he  was  taken  sick — so  we  have  been  told — in  the  spring  of  17?5. 
As  to  his  having  been  there  in  17S2  or  1781,  we  regard  it  as  utterly  improb- 
By  the  way,  if  the  attempt  to  ridicule  Mrs.  Lrwin's  expression, 
"  laborer  on  the  farm,'"  by  showing  what  a  prodigious  genius  he  must  have 
been  to  have  had  an  exegesis  assigned  him,  April,  17S7,  so  short  a  time  after 
he  left  the  plow, — if  all  this,  we  say,  has  not  been  sufficiently  answered,  we 
would  merely  add  that  these  exegeses  were,  in  those  days,  often  given  to 
young  men  after  they  had  been  but  a  short  time  engaged  in  their  classical 
studies.  As  to  what  is  said  by  the  Hon.  H.  M.  Brackenridge,  about  his 
father,  on  his  way  to  Washington  Court,  calling  at  the  Log-Cabin  school, 
and  hearing  some  of  Mr.  Ross's  Latin  scholars,  we  think  there  is  some  mis- 
take. It  is  evidently  supposed  that  this  school  was  on  or  near  the  road-side, 
which  was  not  the  case.  Ii  was  near  two  miles  off  the  present  Washington 
road.  And  if  there  was  one  that  led  nearer  to  Dr.  M'Millan's,  it  was  still 
quite  distant  from  the  Log-Cabin.*  K  he  did  call,  turning  out. of  his  way, 
it  is  more  likely,  we  submit,  that  he  may  have  heard  Mr.  Ross  himself,  or 
given  him  some  assistance  in  construing  a  passage  or  two.  j 

Lei  us  now  briefly  state  what  we  regard  as  resulting  from  this  investiga- 
tion, on  both  sides.  Dr.  M'Millan  removed  with  his  family  to  Western  Penn- 
sylvania in  the  fall  of  177?.     For  some  time  his  domestic  circumstances,  and 


*  We  have  since  learned  that  the  other  old  Washing' on  road  was  still  further  from 
I'r.  M'Millan's  than  the  present  stage  road. 

•j- Judge  Brackenridge.  in  his  ''Incidents  of  the  Western  Insurrection,"  page  14, 
_  ning  at  the  bar  in  1757."  Re  mK-ht  have  been  at 
the  Log-Cabin  as  late  as  17  So  or  17  56. 


412  APPENDIX. 

his  arduous  pastoral  and  missionary  labors  engrossed  all  his  time;  and  tha 
distracted  state  of  the  country  also  continuing,  he  did  not  begin  his  school 
enterprise  till  about  1781  or  1782.  Though  with  the  ultimate  view  of  mak- 
ing it,  in  part,  a,  classical  school,  it  was,  for  some  time,  mainly  an  English 
school,  taught  by  Mr.  Ross,  Mr.  Met  i  ready,  and  others.  Ho,  nevertheless, 
at  his  own  house,  assisted  these  and  others  in  classical  studies,  more  or  less. 
.Mr.  Dodd  began  his  Classical,  Scientific  and  English  school  in  17S1  or  1782. 
In  the  fall  of  17S5,  Mr.  Smith  began  his  school,  exclusively  for  young  men 
studying  for  the  ministry,  and  taught  them,  not  in  theology,  but  in  the  lan- 
guages and  sciences,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Joseph  Patterson,  who.  per- 
haps, studied  part  of  the  sciences  and  read  theology  under  his  direction. 
Mr.  Smith,  both  from  want  of  health  and  from  increased  demands  for 
pastoral  and  ministerial  labors,  was  led,  in  the  course  of  a  year  or  two,  to 
give  up  his  school ;  and  the  young  men  repaired  to  Dr.  M'Millan's,  together 
with  some  others.  Then,  for  a  period  of  three  or  four  years,  this  school 
flourished,  and  was  prominently  what  Dr.  M'Millan  always  had  in  view — a 
Latin  school.  In  the  mean  time,  he  and  others,  failing  to  get  an  academy 
successfully  in  operation,  in  AVashington,  united  with  tho  members  of  the 
Academy  and  Library  Company,  in  and  around  Canonsburg,  to  get  the 
Academy  into  full  operation  there.  Ho  then  gave  up  his  school,  as  the  con- 
venient neighborhood  of  tho  Academy  enabled  him  so  to  do,  to  his  great 
relief  and  satisfaction.  As  he  was  prominently  instrumental,  both  at  AVash- 
ington and  Canonsburg,  in  laying  the  foundation  of  this  first  Literary  Insti- 
tution in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  he  may  well  be  regarded  as  itsri^aus 
pater. 

Wo  will  only  further  add,  that  whether  Prof.  Patterson  has  mado  out  his 
ease  or  not,  he  has  brought  to  light  much  that  reflects  the  highest  honor  on 
Dr.  M'Millan  and  his  coadjutors — that  the  friends  of  Jefferson  Collego  and 
of  education  are  under  deep  obligations  to  him  for  his  able  and  patient 
researches ;  and  for  the  talented  effort  he  has  mado  for  the  imperishable 
renown  of  that  great  and  good  man,  who  made  such  sacrifices  of  toil  and 
expense,  and  of  time  and  trouble,  in  the  cause  of  education  and  Christianity. 

There  are  some  scores  of  things  which  we  had  designed  to  notice,  but  wo 
gladly  dismiss  them  all,  and  leave  the  reader  to  the  result  of  his  own 
reflections. 

After  wo  had  prepared  tho  preceding  remarks  upon  Prof.  Patterson's  paper, 
we  submitted  them,  together  with  that  paper,  to  a  professional  friend,  who 
lias  long  been  familiar  with  legal  investigations,  and  with  examining  wit- 
nesses, <fec.  He  kindly  furnishes  us  with  a  paper  containing  the  result  of 
his  impressions  and  conclusions,  after  carefully  examining  the  testimony 
adduced  by  It.  P.  In  this  paper  he  has  gone  into  a  much  more  careful 
scrutiny  of  tho  whole  subject,  than  wo  have  been  able  to  give  it  But 
though  it  is  committed  to  our  disposal,  its  great  length,  and  its  rather  less 
respectful  treatment  of  the  Professor  and  some  of  his  witnesses,  than  wo 


DR.  m  millan's  manuscript.  413 

can  altogether  approve,  forbid  our  insertion  of  it  here.  It  is  possible  that 
with  such  alterations  as  we  think  it  requires,  it  may  hereafter  be  given  to 
the  public.  This  able,  and,  we  think,  conclusive  document,  furnishes  several 
items  that  would  be  of  special  sorvice  to  us  now.  But  to  extract  or  withdraw 
them  for  this  purpose,  would  be  doing  injustice  to  the  whole  paper  and 
diminish  its  value,  should  it  be  hereafter  published,  We  will  only  add  that 
we  are  now  satisfied  that  some  of  the  statements  about  the  early  classical 
school  at  Ten  Mile  are  doubtful ;  and  that  an  egregious anacronism  pervades 
the  whole  testimony  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lindley-^doubtless  altogether  uninten- 
tional on  his  part.  It  will  be  observed  that  Dr.  Cephas  Dodd's  account  of 
his  father's  school  rests  almost  exclusively  upon  what  he  got  from  Dr.  Lindley. 


DR.    M'MILLAN'S   MANUSCRIPT. 

The  following  is  a  carefully  copied  transcript  of  the  manu- 
script referred  to  in  the  previous  review  of  Prof.  Patterson's 
paper.  It  was  apparently  prepared  with  great  care  by  Dr. 
M'Millan,  and  left  along  with  his  journal,  which  he  had  kept 
of  his  early  missionary  tours.  When,  some  two  months  after 
he  wrote  it,  he  wrote  his  celebrated  letter  to  Dr.  Carnahan, 
he  appears  to  have  placed  this  manuscript  before  him ;  and 
while  he  omitted  several  portions  of  it,  altered  some  passages 
and  enlarged  upon  others,  especially  about  the  revivals,  he 
copied  somewhat  closely  a  considerable  part  of  it.  It  is 
altogether  a  precious  document.  The  Rev.  L.  F.  Leake,  it 
will  be  seen,  drew  from  it  much  of  his  interesting  biographical 
sketch.  We  are  not  aware  that  it  has  ever  been  heretofore 
published.  It  will  be  seen  that  it  completely  vindicates  all 
that  we  have  heretofore  said  about  it. 

"  My  father's  name  was  William  M'Millan  ;  my  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Margaret  Ilea ;  they  were  both  born  and 
lived  in  the  parish  of  Carmony,  in  the  county  of  Antrim, 
Ireland.  They  emigrated  to  America,  about  the  year  1742, 
and  settled  in  Fagg's  manor,  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania. 
My  mother  died  in  the  year  1768.  My  father  married  again, 
and  during  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  war  he  sold  his 


414  ArPENDIX. 

property  in  Chester  county  and  removed  to  the  western 
country,  where  he  died  on  the  2d  of  July,  1792,  aged  seventy- 
five  years.  His  remains  were  buried  at  Chartiers.  M y 
parents  had  but  six  children,  who  grew  up  to  be  men  and 
women,  viz  :  three  sons  and  three  daughters ;  all  of  whom 
are  now  dead,  except  myself,  who  was  the  youngest  but  ono 
of  the  family.  I  was  born  in  Fagg's  manor,  on  the  11th  of 
November,  1752.  Before  my  birth,  my  parents  had  some 
children,  I  think  two  sons,  who  died  while  they  were  young. 
My  father  told  me  that  he  had  promised  to  God,  that  if  he 
would  give  him  another  son,  he  would  call  his  name  John, 
and  devote  him  to  his  service  in  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  : 
accordingly  as  soon  as  I  had  acquired  a  sufficient  degree  of 
English  literature,  I  was  sent  to  a  grammar  school,  kept  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Blair,  in  Fagg's  manor;  where  I  con- 
tinued until  Mr.  Blair  was  removed  to  Princeton,  to  super- 
intend the  college  there.  I  was  then  sent  to  Pequea  to  a 
grammar  school,  kept  by  the  Rev.  Robert  Smith.  While 
there,  the  Lord  poured  out  his  Spirit  upon  the  students;  and 
I  believe  there  were  but  few  who  were  not  brought  under 
serious  concern  about  their  immortal  souls  :  some  of  whom 
became  blessings  in  their  day,  and  were  eminently  useful  in 
the  Church  of  Christ ;  but  they  are  all  now  gone  to  rest. 
It  was  here  that  I  received  my  first  religious  impressions  j 
though  as  long  as  I  can  remember,  I  had  at  times  some 
checks  of  conscience,  and  was  frequently  terrified  by  dreams 
and  visions  in  the  night,  which  made  me  cry  to  God  for 
mercy  :  but  these  seasons  were  of  short  duration ;  like  the 
morning  cloud  and  the  early  dew,  they  quickly  passed  away. 
I  now  saw  that  T  was  a  lost,  undone  sinner,  exposed  to  the 
wrath  of  a  justly  offended  God,  and  could  do  nothing  for  my 
own  relief.  My  convictions  were  not  attended  with  much 
horror;  though  I  felt  that  I  deserved  hell,  and  that  in  all 
probability  that  must  be  my  portion :  yet  I  could  not  feel 
that  distress  which  I  ought  to  feel,  and  which  I  thought  I 
must  feel  before  I  could  expect  to  obtain  relief.  I  felt  also 
much  pride  and  legality,  mingled  with  all  the  duties  which 
I  attempted  to  perform.  In  this  situation  I  continued  until 
I  went  to  college,  in  the  spring  of  1770.  I  had  not  been 
long  there  until  a  revival  of  religion  took  place  among  the 
students ;  and  I  believe  at  one  time  there  were  not  more 
than  two  or  three,  but  what  were  under  serious  impressions. 
On  a  day  which  had  been  set  apart  by  a  number  of  the 


dr.  m'millan's  manuscript.  415 

Students  to  be  observed  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  while 
the  others  were  at  dinner,  I  retired  into  my  study;  and 
while  trying  to  pray  I  got  some  discoveries  of  divine  things, 
which  I  had  never  had  before :  I  saw  that  the  divine  law 
was  not  only  holy,  just  and  spiritual,  but  also  that  it  was 
good,  and  that  conformity '  to  it  would  make  me  happy.  I 
felt  no  disposition  to  quarrel  with  the  law ;  but  with  myself, 
because  I  was  not  conformed  to  it.  I  felt  it  now  easy  to 
submit  to  the  gospel  plan  of  salvation,  and  felt  a  calm  and 
serenity  of  mind,  to  which  I  had  hitherto  been  a  stranger, 
And  this  was  followed  by  a  delight  in  contemplating  the 
divine  glory  in  all  his  works,  and  in  meditating  on  the  divine 
perfections.  I  thought  that  I  could  see  G-od  in  every  thing 
around  me. 

"I  continued  at  college  until  the  fall  of  1772,  when  I 
returned  to  Pequea,  and  began  the  study  of  Theology  under 
the  direction  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Smith,  D.  D.  I  had  great 
difficulties  in  my  own  mind  about  undertaking  the  work  of 
the  gospel  ministry.  However,  I  at  last  came  to  this  deter* 
mination,  to  leave  the  matter  wholly  with  Grod ;  if  he  opened 
the  way,  I  would  go  on ;  if  he  shut  it,  I  would  be  satisfied ; 
and  I  think  if  ever  I  knew  what  it  was  to  have  no  will  of  my 
own  about  any  mattei*,  it  was  about  this.  I  passed  through 
my  trials  in  the  Presbytery  of  New  Castle,  and  was  licensed 
by  them  to  preach  the  gospel,  October  the  26th,  1774,  at 
East  Nattinghara.  The  first  winter  I  spent  in  itinerating  in 
the  vacant  congregations  of  New  Castle  and  Donegal  Pres- 
byteries. In  the  summer  of  '75,  I  took  a  tour  through  the 
settlements  in  Virginia,  between  the  North  and  South  moun- 
tains. In  July  I  crossed  the  mountains  between  Staunton 
and  the  head  of  Tygart's  Valley,  preached  in  the  various 
Settlements  which  I  passed  through,  until  I  came  to  Char- 
tiers;  preached  there  on  the  fourth  Sabbath  of  August,  and  on 
the  Tuesday  following  at  Pigeon  Creek.  I  then  turned  my 
course  eastward,  preached  in  the  diiferent  settlements  as  I 
passed  along,  and  came  to  my  father's  about  the  last  of 
October.  In  the  winter  I  again  visited  Augusta  county  in 
Virginia,  crossed  the  mountains  in  January,  and  preached  at 
Pigeon  Creek  and  Chartiers  until  the  latter  end  of  March, 
1776,  when  I  returned  home;  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  Pres- 
bytery, on  the  23d  of  April,  I  accepted  a  call,  and  was 
dismissed  to  join  the  Presbytery  of  Donegal,  and  on  the  19th 
of  June,  at  Chambersburg,  was  ordained. 


416  APPENDIX. 

"Having  now  determined  to  remove  to  the  Western  country 
and  take  charge  of  the  congregations  of  Chartiers  and  Pigeon 
Creek,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  take  with  me  a  female  com- 
panion. Accordingly,  on  the  Oth  of  August,  177G,  I  was 
married  to  Catharine  Brown,  a .  young  woman  with  whom  I 
had  been  long  acquainted,  and  who,  I  believed,  was  a  dear 
child  of  God.  She  was  the  youngest  child  of  Mr.  William 
Brown,  a  ruling  elder  in  the  congregation  of  Upper  Brandy- 
wine,  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  very  pious 
man,  and  lived  to  a  great  age,  being  about  ninety  when  he 
died.  It  being  in  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  the 
Indians  being  very  troublesome  on  the  frontiers,  I  was  pre- 
vented from  removing  my  family  to  my  congregations  until 
November,  1778.  I  however  visited  them  as  often  as  I  could, 
ordained  elders,  baptized  their  children,  and  took  as  much 
care  of  them  as  circumstances  would  permit.  When  I  came 
to  this  country,  the  cabin  in  which  I  was  to  live  was  raised, 
but  there  was  no  roof  on  it,  nor  chimney,  nor  floor  in  it.  The 
people,  however,  were  very  kind,  assisted  me  in  preparing  my 
house,  and  on  the  15th  of  December  I  removed  into  it.  But 
we  had  neither  bedstead,  nor  table,  nor  chair,  nor  stool,  nor 
pail,  nor  bucket.  All  these  things  we  had  to  leave  behind 
us ;  there  being  no  wagon  road  at  that  time  over  the  moun- 
tains ;  we  could  bring  nothing  with  us  but  what  was  carried 
on  pack-horses.  We  placed  two  boxes  on  each  other,  which 
served  us  for  a  table,  and  two  kegs  served  us  for  teats  j  and 
having  committed  ourselves  to  God  in  family  worship,  we 
spread  a  bed  on  the  floor,  and  slept  soundly  until  morning. 
The  next  day,  a  neighbor  coming  to  my  assistance,  we  made 
a  table  and  a  stool,  and  in  a  little  time  had  everything  com- 
fortable about  us.  Sometimes,  indeed,  we  had  no  bread  for 
weeks  together  ;  but  we  had  plenty  of  pumpkins  and  potatoes, 
and  all  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  as  for  luxuries,  we  were 
not  much  concerned  about  them.  We  enjoyed  health,  the 
gospel  and  its  ordinances,  and  pious  friends.  Y\  e  were  in 
the  place  where  we  believe  God  would  have  us  to  be;  and 
we  did  not  doubt  he  would  provide  every  thing  necessary  ; 
and  glory  to  his  name,  we  were  not  disappointed.  My  wife 
and  I  lived  comfortably  together  mine  than  forty-three  years; 
and  on  the  24th  of  November,  1810,  she  departed  trium- 
phantly to  take  possession  of  her  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens.  When  I  determined  to  come  to  this 
country,  Dr.  Smith  enjoined  it  upon  mc  to  look  out  for  some 


DR.   m  millan's  manuscript.  417 

pirns  young  men,  and  educate  them  for  the  ministry;  for, 
said  he,  though  some  men  of  piety  and  talents  may  go  to  a 
new  country  at  first,  yet  if  they  are  not  careful  to  raise  up 
others,  the  country  will  not  be  •well  supplied.  Accordingly 
I  collected  a  few  who  gave  evidence  of  piety,  and  instructed 
them  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages, 
some  of  whom  became  useful,  and  others  eminent,  ministers 
of  the  gospel,  viz :  James  Hughs,  John  Brice,  James 
M'G-rcady,  William  Swan,  Samuel  Porter,  and  Thomas  Mar- 
quis. All  these  I  boarded  and  taught  without  any  compen- 
sation, except  about  forty  dollars,  which  3Ir.  Swan  gave  to 
my  wife  after  he  was  settled  in  the  ministry.  I  had  still  a 
few  with  me  when  the  Academy  was  opened  in  Canonsburg, 
and  finding  that  I  could  not  teach  and  do  justice  to  my  con- 
gregation, I  immediately  gave  it  up  and  sent  them  there. 

"  For  an  account  of  the  revivals  of  religion  which  took  place 
in  the  congregation,  I  must  refer  you  to  the  Western  Mission- 
ary Magazine,  vol.  2d,  page  353.  After  the  close  of  the  revi- 
val which  began  in  1802,  though  upon  every  sacramental 
occasion  some  joined  the  church,  yet  nothing  remarkable  took 
place  until  the  fall  of  1823,  when  God  again  visited  this  dry 
and  parched  congregation  with  a  shower  of  divine  influences. 
About  sixty  joined  the  church  as  the  fruits  of  this  revival ; 
a  number  of  whom  were  students  in  the  college,  and  are  now 
preaching  the  Gospel  of  Christ  to  their  fellow  dying  men. 
Since  that  time  religion  has  rather  been  on  the  decline,  though 
still  we  are  not  left  without  some  tokens  of  the  Divine  pres- 
ence ;  at  every  sacramental  occasion,  some  have  come  out 
from  the  world  and  professed  to  take  the  Lord  for  their  portion. 

"  J.  M'MlLLAN. 

"  January,  1832." 

[Added  by  another,  but  unknown  hand.'] 

"  In  April,  May  and  June,  he  took  what  he  supposed  to  be 
his  last  visit  amongst  some  of  the  old  churches  in  the  West, 
which  he  had  been  instrumental  in  gathering  from  the  wil- 
derness and  supplying  with  pastors.  On  the  last  Sabbath  of 
April,  and  first  Sabbath  of  May,  he  assisted  in  dispensing  the 
Lord's  Supper  at  Cross  Creek  and  Cross  Roads,  and  preached 
six  Sabbaths  in  Racoon  congregation,  where  he  assisted  in 
administering  the  Lord's  Supper  on  the  third  Sabbath  of  June. 
During  this  journey  he  preached  seventeen  sermons,   with 


41^  APPENDIX. 

more  than  usual  fervency;  and  it  has  been  since  found  that 
his  labors  during  this  journey  were  blessed  to  the  spiritual 
quickening  and  edification  of  God's  people,  and  the  awaken- 
ing of  not  less  than  — .  careless  sinners,  who  have  since 
joined  themselves  to  the  Lord.  During  the  year  1832,  he 
assisted  in  administering  the  Lord's  Supper  fourteen  times, 
and  preached  about  fifty  times,  on  occasions  leaning  on  his 
crutch,  and  in  the  eightieth  year  of  his  age.  During  the 
year  1833,  up  to  the  16th  of  November,  the  time  of  his 
death,  he  assisted  in  administering  the  Lord's  Supper  seven- 
teen times,  and  preached  on  these  occasions  about  seventy-five 
times,  frequently  twice  on  the  same  day,  besides  attending  to 
exhortations,  &c." 


IMPORTANCE  OF  COLLEGES  AND  OF  CLASSICAL  EDUCATION 

EARLY    HISTORY     OF    COLLEGIATE    INSTITUTIONS. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  auspicious  signs  of  the  times  that  the 
subject  of  education  is  beginning  to  awaken  a  deeper  and 
more  pervading  interest  throughout  the  civilized  world.  Great 
as  has  been  the  progress  of  improvement  in  the  various 
methods  of  promoting  the  commerce,  wealth  and  luxury  of 
the  nations,  this  progress  would  afford  but  little  satisfaction 
to  the  philanthropist,  did  not  the  cause  of  general  instruction 
keep  pace  with  the  other  onward  movements  of  the  age,  It 
must  be  acknowledged,  however,  that  it  requires  more  effort 
to  sustain  the  interests  of  education  before  the  public  mind, 
than  it  does  to  uphold  the  cause  of  public  improvements,  and 
the  various  methods  of  accumulating  dollars  and  cents.  Yet 
the  importance  of  every  judicious  method  of  diffusing  science 
and  literature  is  so  obvious  to  every  reflecting  man,  that  those 
who  have  been  concerned  in  devising  and  rearing  to  maturity 
institutions  of  learning  in  curcountiy,  during  its  earlier  life, 
have  strong  claims,  even  now,  amidst  the  din  of  slitting  mills, 
and  cotton  factories,  and  locomotives,  to  be  remembered  with 
gratitude.  The  attempt  has  been  ma/c,  in  t lie  foregoing 
pages,  to  erect  an  humble  monument  to  the  memory  of  those 
good  men,  who,  nearly  seventy  years  ago,  constructed  the  first 
home  of  classical  learning  and  science  west  of  the  mountains — 
the  first  College  in   the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.     We  are 


COLLEGES    AND    CLASSICAL   EDUCATION.  419 

aware  that  not  a  few  call  in  question  the  claims  of  public 
educational  institutions  to  any  special  regard — alleging  even 
that  such  methods  of  instruction  are  neither  safe  nor  wise, 
and  in  some  cases,  treating  with  derision  all  classical  educa- 
tion. It  has  been  long  disputed,  we  know,  even  among  the 
friends  and  advocates  of  the  most  thorough  mental  training, 
whether  a  more  private,  and  even  domestic  system  of  instruc- 
tion, may  not  claim  the  preference  over  the  plan  of  public 
seminaries.  The  principal  argument  urged  in  behalf  of 
humbler  forms  of  institutions,  is  derived  from  alleged  supe- 
rior advantages  in  respect  to  the  morals  of  youth.  We  are 
not  to  suppose  that  those  who  take  this  ground  are  advocate.* 
of  nothing  better  than,  or  superior  to,  our  common  schools. 
This  is  not  their  meaning.  They  are  for  the  widest  curricu- 
lum of  studies.  But  they  would  have  it  so  managed  as  to 
supersede  the  erection  of  Colleges  and  Universities.  But 
even  were  such  a  scheme  practicable,  it  may  well  be  ques- 
tioned whether  the  superior  advantages  they  claim  for  their 
system,  are  not  altogether  imaginary.  If  to  preserve  the 
youthful  mind  from  vicious  indulgences,  and  from  exposure  to 
moral  contaminations,  were  equivalent  to  rendering  it  virtu- 
ous, and  confirmed  in  habits  of  truth  and  sobriety,  the  ques- 
tion might  be  easily  determined.  But  this  is  far  from  being 
the  case.  A  boy  may  be  surrounded  by  argus-eyed  sentinels, 
that  shall  give  the  alarm  at  every  approach  of  danger — may 
be  confined  to  the  society  of  the  most  virtuous  and  upright 
friends  and  companions — may  be  completely  secluded  from 
every  possible  access  to  haunts  of  vice  and  dissipation,  and 
yet  so  far  from  enjoying  a  vigorous  and  manly  expansion  of 
his  mental  and  moral  powers,  his  whole  nature  may  poss 
a  feeble  and  sickly  structure,  easily  tossed  about  and  shaken 
by  temptations,  and  exposed  to  complete  shipwreck  in  the 
first  storm  it  might  be  called  to  encounter.  There  is  a  striking 
analogy  between  the  physical  and  the  moral  world.  A.s  th< 
sturdy  oak  of  .  dd  never  be  trained  and  reared  to 

perfection  in  .    i  i    eeptaclc,  attempered  by  artificial  heat  ; 

but  most  rise  amidst  the  heats  of  summer  and  the  storms 
winter,  and  gather  strength  from  the  rocking  of  the  tempest; 
so  in  general  it  is  with  man.  Educate  him  apart  from  all 
possible  lores  of  vice  and  folly,  confine  his  social  nature  to  a 
narrow  inch  of  space,  and  yon  attempt  to  form  an  oak  in  a 
hot-house.  That  plan  of  instruction,  then,  appears  to  us  to 
give  most  promise  of  success  which  assumes  that  youth  are 


420  APPENDIX. 

not  to  be  constantly  watched  and  dogged  at  every  step  with 
suspicion ;  but  while  it  places  before  them  the  precepts  of 
wisdom  and  virtue,  and  throws  around  them  the  influence  of 
good  example,  plies  every  proper  incentive  to  the  attainment 
of  a  useful  and  honorable  life ;  and  yet  throws  them,  in  a 
considerable  degree,  upon  the  exercise  of  their  own  vigilance 
and  caution,  amidst  surrounding  dangers  and  temptations. 
But  let  these  dangers  and  temptations  be  rendered  as  few  as 
is  at  all  compatible  with  public  institutions.  Such  is  the 
character  of  the  academical  training  which  we  advocate, 
feuck,  we  believe,  were  the  views  and  principles  of  the  good 
men  who  aimed  to  found  the  first  college  west  of  the  Alle- 
gheny mountains,  and  sought  for  it  a  home  in  the  quiet  village 
of  Canonsburg.  They  believed  that  a  college  is  the  place 
most  favorable  to  draw  out  and  excite  all  the  powers  of  the 
mind.  It  is  a  wise  and  benevolent  law  of  our  mental  struc- 
ture, that  mind  is  most  effectually  kindled  by  coming  in  con- 
tact with  mind.  That  system  of  instruction  which  does  not 
duly  avail  itself  of  this  psychological  principle,  must  be  radi- 
cally defective.  Besides,  emulation  is,  perhaps,  an  original 
principle  of  our  nature,  and  not  exclusively  the  result  of 
moral  obliquity.  It  is,  we  confess,  peculiarly  liable  to  abuse. 
But  to  call  it  into  action,  within  due  bounds,  in  the  educa- 
tional training  of  youth,  is  not  only  perfectly  proper  and 
admissible,  but  really  important.  And  this  can  be  much 
better  effected  in  public  than  in  private  seminaries.  Again, 
at  colleges,  young  men  learn  their  own  strength  and  weak- 
ness— learn  to  stand  erect  and  to  walk  ;  or,  to  express  it 
without  a  metaphor,  to  think  and  act  for  themselves.  Here 
men  are  formed.  Here  manly,  independent,  thinking  men 
are  "  grown."* 


■  ■•  The  friendships,  quarrels,  and  various  intercourse  among  boys  afford 

a  thousand  opp  t ities  of  exhibiting  such  principles  which  conm  i  be  had 

in  private.  The  emulation  oi  glorious  deeds  inspiri  :  them  more  strongly 
in  a  crowd  ol  ;  and  the  pulse  of  honor,  i  • 

It  is  further  asked  if  it  be  not  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  inculcate 
ideas  of  boi  iety  :  and  to  imbue  the  mind  with  earlj  notions  of  submission  to 
authority  and  government.  He  sees  the  beauty  of  order,  the  utility  of  law, 
and  the  necessity  of  good  government  School  hours  and  school  privileges 
haves  favorable  tendency  also  to  impress  upon  him  a  lovi  of  liberty,  of 
the  value  of  which,  a  youth  brought  up  at  home  cannot  form  an  idea.  lie 
may  have  lessons  on  all  these  subjects;  but  such  Lessons  mast  ever  be  inte- 
rior to  a  real  intercourse  with  life — seeing  with  his  own  eyes  and  obtaining 
knowledge  by  his  own  experience.'' — Encyclopedia  Britannia*.  Art.  Cvllego 


COLLEGES   AND   CLASSICAL   EDUCATION.  421 

As  to  those  who  question  the  utility  of  the  study  of  the 
dead  languages,  as  they  are  called,  we  rest  the  defence  of 
classical  education  mainly  on  the  ground  of  its  superlative, 
and  long-tested  fitness  to  exercise,  train  and  develop  the  men- 
tal faculties ;  and  on  the  ground  of  its  peculiar  adaptation  to 
that  period  of  human  life  in  which  it  is  usually  pursued. 
Perhaps,  however,  not  less  weight  should  be  attached  to  the 
consideration  that  this  study  eminently  contributes  to  culti- 
vate the  imagination,  and  refine  the  taste.  With  few  excep- 
tions, those  whom  we  recommend  to  our  young  men,  as  models 
of  fine  writing,  were  men  that  drank  deeply  from  the  Casta- 
lian  fount — that  were  conducted  by  the  midnight  lamp  over 
the  classic  pages  of  antiquity.  Dr.  Robertson,  when  visiting 
as  Principal  one  of  the  classes  of  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, declared,  for  the  encouragement  of  young  men  in  the 
prosecution  of  their  studies,  that  if  he  had  acquired  any  fame 
as  a  historian,  he  owed  it  entirely  to  his  acquaintance  with 
the  historians  of  antiquity.  On  these  and  similar  grounds 
we  vindicate  the  wisdom  and  necessity  of  colleges ;  and  main- 
tain that  a  lasting  debt  of  gratitude  is  due  to  our  first  western 
ministers,  and  their  coadjutors,  for  their  early  efforts  in  this 
cause.  And  if  we  have  told  the  story  of  their  toils  and  sac- 
rifices in  this  good  work,  and  of  the  delightful  and  surprising 
results,  we  shall  hope  to  find  some  interested  readers ;  espe- 
cially in  sections  of  our  country  where  similar  efforts  are  now 
in  progress,  or  should  soon  be  made.     But  "festinix  lente." 

Having,  some  years  ago,  directed  our  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject of  the  origin  and  history  of  seminaries  of  learning,  in 
former  ages  and  other  lands,  we  have  been  advised  by  some  of 
our  literary  friends  to  whom  we  submitted  the  matter,  to 
place  before  our  readers  the  following  statement,  as  the  result 
of  our  researches. 

As  we  tell  the  story  of  our  first  Western  College,  it  may 
not  be  out  of  place  to  attempt  a  brief  historical  sketch,  in  this 
place,  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  such  institutions.  If  such 
a  subject  appears  uninviting  to  any  of  our  readers,  we  claim 
no  right  to  insist  on  a  hearing  for  the  remainder  of  this  paper. 
A  very  summary  account  is  all  that  we  here  propose.  It  is 
evident  from  Strabo  and  Diodorus,  that  among  the  Egyptians 
and  Chaldeans,  there  existed  colleges  of  priests,  in  which 
literature  was  cultivated  among  themselves,  and  communicated 
to  others.  The  statements,  however,  about  the  seminai-ies  of 
these  very  ancient  nations,  are  not  without  much  obscurity 
36 


422  APPENDIX. 

and  uncertainty.  Besides,  there  is,  no  doubt,  a  great  differ- 
ence between  the  institution?  of  these  early  ages,  and  our 
modern  scats  of  science.  The  same  remark  will  apply,  per- 
haps, with  equal  force  to  the  schools  of  the  Magi,  among  the 
Persians ;  in  which  it  would  appear  that  considerable  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  astronomy  and  natural  philosophy.  Among 
the  Jews,  from  the  time  of  Samuel,  there  existed  certain  soci- 
eties, in  which  some  were  trained  to  wisdom  aud  piety,  and 
exercised  themselves  in  mental  efforts  under  the  tuition  of 
teachers.  This  may  be  inferred,  we  think,  from  what  is  men- 
tioned respecting  the  companies  or  schools  of  the  prophets. 
In  the  following  age,  we  read  that  the  sons  of  the  prophets 
dwelt  at  Bethel,  Jericho,  and  Gilgal.  Hence  it  is  not  doubted 
by  many  writers  that  from  the  time  of  Samuel  and  the  fol- 
lowing age,  schools  of  learning  were  among  the  Hebrew 
nation.  There  were  more  unequivocal  marks  and  proofs,  how 
ever,  of  schools  among  the  Jews  after  the  Babylonish  captivity. 
These  schools  were  extensively  connected  with  their  syna- 
gogues at  Jerusalem,  Babylon,  and  elsewhere ;  an  incredible 
number  of  which  sprang  up  and  flourished  for  centuries 
among  them. 

It  can  be  very  clearly  proved,  from  historical  data,  that 
there  were  no  public  schools,  or  institutions  of  learning, 
among  the  Greeks  before  the  time  of  Plato.  For  though 
there  were  many  who  before  that  time  furnished  various  kind: 
of  instruction,  yet  that  was  rather  the  enterprise  of  indivi 
duals  then  a  matter  of  public  concern.  It  would  seem 
indeed,  says  Conringius,  a  German  writer,  that  the  Athenians 
the  most  accomplished  of  the  Greeks,  granted  to  their  citi 
zen,  Plato,  in  order  that  they  might  atone  for  the  crime 
committed  against  Philosophy,  by  their  condemnation  of 
Socrates,  the  privilege  of  a  grove,  in  their  suburbs.  To  this, 
the  name  of  Academy  was  given,  from  Hecademus,  or 
Academus,  the  name  of  the  man  who  had  constructed  the 
grove.  From  this  period,  various  philosophic  schools  suc- 
cessively arose  to  great  eminence.  But  after  the  brightest 
period  of  Grecian  history  had  passed  away,  the  wars  which 
followed  upon  the  death  of  Alexander  the  Great,  among  those 
who  succeeded  him,  had,  in  a  manner,  extinguished  learning 
in  all  that  part  of  the  world.  Indeed,  it  would  seem  to  have 
been  on  the  point  of  becoming  utterly  extinct,  amidst  the 
calamities  of  those  times,  had  it  not  found  a  support  under  the 
patronage  of  the  Ptolemies  of  Egypt.     For  the  first  Ptolemy, 


COLLEGES    AND    CLASSICAL  EDUCATION.  423 

aving  erected  a  museum,  or  college,  for  the  maintenance 
and  encouragement  of  learned  men,  and  also  a  great  library, 
for  their  use,  drew  most  of  the  learned  men  of  Greece  thither. 
This  library  was  afterwards  augmented,  by  his  successors, 
until  it  is  said  to  have  contained  seven  hundred  thousand 
volumes.*  By  the  detestable  cruelties  and  oppressions  of 
Ptolemy  Physcon,  about  the  year  before  Christ,  138,  many 
learned  men  were  driven  into  foreign  parts,  erected  schools, 
and  being  poor,  taught  for  small  fees,  and  drew  immense 
numbers  of  scholars.  Learning  thus  revived,  received  a  fresh 
impulse  through  all  Greece  and  Asia  Minor;  much  in  the 
same  way  as  it  was  in  the  western  world,  many  ages  after- 
wards, upon  the  final  overthrow  of  the  Byzantine  Empire,  by 
the  Turks  in  1453. 

At  Rom*1-  schools  for  teaching  various  branches  of  useful 
knowledge,  had  existed  from  an  early  period ;  but  no  institu- 
tions of  much  note  existed  till  the  Augustan  age.  At  this 
period,  the  Greek  language  was  taught  under  the  patronage 
of  the  court ;  much  attention  was  bestowed  upon  the  culture 
of  polite  learning,  and  the  fine  arts,  and  those  who  con- 
tributed with  zeal  and  success  to  these  studies,  were  eminently 
distinguished  by  Augustus  Caesar.  But  after  his  death, 
learning  languished  without  encouragement,  and  was  neglected, 
because  the  succeeding  Emperors  were  more  intent  upon  the 
arts  of  war  and  rapine  then  those  more  amiable  arts  and 
inventions,  that  are  the  fruits  of  leisure  and  peace.  A  long 
night  gradually  settled  down  upon  the  Roman  empire — 
especially  the  western  division  of  it;  and  an  academical  or 
collegiate  institution  became  a  "cycnus  nigra,  rara  avis  in 
terris." 


*  When  Julius  Cresar  invaded  Egypt  and  plundered  Alexandria,  a  large 
portion  of  this  splendid  collection  was  burnt.  A  part,  however,  that  was  in 
a  region  of  the  city  called  Bruchium,  escaped  the  ravages  of  the  ruthless 
soldiery,  and  of  the  flames.  Cleopatra  afterwards  purchased  the  famous 
library  of  Pergamos,  and  added  it  to  that  of  Alexandria.  It  was  frequently 
afterwards  plundered  and  greatly  injured ;  but  again  repaired  and 
replenished  from  time  to  time,  until  it  was  finally  burnt  and  destroyed  by 
the  Saracens  in  642.  Johannes  Grammaticus  earnestly  begged  the  Saracen 
general,  Amrou  Ebnal,  for  the  library.  He  wrote  to  the  Caliph,  Omar,  who 
sent  him  an  answer  worthy  of  the  fanatical  barbarian.  "If  the  books  agree 
with  the  Koran,  then  there  is  no  need  of  them  ;  if  not,  then  they  ought  not 
to  be  endured."  This  immense  collection  of  valuable  manuscripts  was 
employed  for  heating  the  public  baths,  for  more  than  six  months.  It  has, 
howevi  r,  been  questioned,  on  plausible  grounds,  whether  the  loss  of  this 
library  has  been  any  serious  injury  to  the  interests  of  History  or  Philosophy. 


424  APPENDIX 

The  state  of  letters  in  the  first  three  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era,  among  the  Romans,  was  not  favorable  to  the 
establishment  and  growth  of  literary  institutions.  These 
were  principally  in  the  hands  of  rhetoricians,  sophists  and 
grammarians.  During  this  period  an  academy  of  some  note 
was  established  or  founded  at  Rome  by  the  Emperor  Adrian, 
in  which  all  the  sciences  were  taught  There  was  also  a 
renowned  seminary  at  Berytus  in  Phenicia,  principally  for 
the  education  of  youth  in  the  science  of  law.  But  nf  all  tho 
institutions  which  acquired  any  considerable  notoriety,  the 
famous  school  of  Alexandria  deserves  particular  mention. 
During  the  latter  part  of  this  period,  Christianity  obtained  a 
controlling  influence  over  most  of  those  concerned  in  public 
or  private  instruction  in  this  place.  Clemens  Alexandrinus, 
Pantenus  and  Origen  acquired  great  celebrity  in  the  Christian 
world  as  instructors.  This  last  remarkable  man  did  more 
than  all  others  to  bring  learning  into  countenance  and  favor 
with  the  church.  The  question  concerning  the  excellence 
and  utility  of  learning,  had  been  hotly  contested  among  the 
Christians  of  this  period.  From  the  first  ages  of  Christianity, 
a  dislike  to  pagan  learning  was  pretty  general  among 
Christians.  Many  of  the  Fathers  were  undoubtedly  ac- 
complished in  liberal  studies  ;  and  we  are  indebted  to  them 
for  many  valuable  fragments  of  authors  whose  works  have 
perished.  Proscribed  and  persecuted  as  they  were,  the  early 
Christians  had  not,  perhaps,  access  to  the  public  schools,  nor 
much  inclination  to  studies  which  seemed  to  them  uncongenial 
to  the  character  of  their  profession.  Their  prejudices  even 
survived  the  establishment  of  Christianity.  The  fourth 
Council  of  Carthage  prohibited  the  bishops  from  reading 
secular  books.  Jerome  plainly  condemns  the  study  of  them, 
except  for  pious  purposes.  Constantine  and  the  succeeding 
emperors  gave  much  to  seminaries  of  learning.  One  of  the 
most  remarkable  occurrences  of  this  period  was  the  bold  and 
artful  stroke  of  Julian  the  Apostate,  in  taking  all  the  schools 
and  seminaries  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Christians,  and  putting 
them  under  the  direction  of  the  pagans,  with  the  avowed 
design  of  effecting  the  destruction  of  Christianity,  and  the 
restoration  of  paganism.  How  far  success  would  have  crowned 
his  efforts,  had  his  life  been  prolonged,  it  is  impossible  to 
say.  It  was  manifestly  a  masterly  piece  of  policy,  and  has 
not  been  lost  sight  of  or  forgotten  by  many  iufidels  to  this 
day. 


COLLEGES   AND   CLASSICAL   EDUCATION.  425 

The  Jews,  during  this  time,  had  their  schools  at  Tiberias, 
and  in  the  province  of  Babylon,  at  Jara,  Naherda  and 
Pompeditha.  Before  the  close  of  the  second  century,  their 
institutions  in  Tiberias  and  Janinia  were  quite  famous. 
Milman  Las  given  an  interesting  account  of  their  seminaries, 
under  tbe  Byzantine  Empire;  also,  under  the  Caliphs,  which 
he  calls  their  golden  age  ;  and  under  the  Western  Govern- 
ments, since  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.  In  the  fifth, 
sixth,  and  seventh  centuries,  some  of  the  Christian  Emperors, 
such  as  Justinian,  and  Theodosius  the  Great,  bestowed  some 
attention  on  letters.  During  this  period  there  were  public 
institutions  in  the  principal  cities,  some  of  them  with  con- 
siderable claims  to  eminence  ;  especially  those  at  Constan- 
tinople, Rome,  Marseilles,  Edessa,  Nisibis,  Carthage,  Lyons, 
and  Treves.  But  the  course  of  instruction  was  generally  of 
the  most  jejune  and  meagre  character.  A  general  education 
embraced  the  seven  liberal  arts  ;  that  is,  Grammar,  Arithme- 
tic, Rhetoric,  Logic,  Music,  Geometry  and  Astronomy.  There 
were  some  schools,  towards  the  close  of  the  sixth  century, 
established  in  certain  cathedrals  and  monasteries,  but  of  a 
very  low  and  miserable  description.  Nothing  connected  with 
our  inquiries  worthy  of  a  moment's  pause,  meets  us  until  we 
reach  the  times  of  Charlemagne,  in  the  eight  century.  This 
great  man,  though  illiterate  himself,  was  a  distinguished 
patron  of  education.  When  he  ascended  the  throne,  the  few 
spots  of  sunshine,  in  respect  to  letters,  were  to  be  found  in 
Britain  and  Ireland.  To  aid  him  in  reviving  learning  and 
in  conducting  seminaries,  he  called  from  these  Isles  of  the 
West  some  of  their  brightest  luminaries.  We  must  not  omit 
to  mention  also  the  famous  capitularies  of  Charlemagne, 
directing  schools  to  be  set  up  in  bishoprics  and  abbeys  "to 
.learn  the  Psalms,  Singing  and  Grammar." 

About  this  time,  the  Emperor  Lotharius  convened  the 
third  Council  of  Valence,  the  eighteenth  canon  of  which 
expressly  enjoined  that  schools  be  set  up  "for  learning  and 
singing."  Some  attempts  were  made  by  other  provincial 
Councils,  and  by  several  bishops,  to  erect  seminaries  in 
Catholic  churches.  But  now  gross  darkness  covered  the 
people.  The  highest  dignitaries  of  the  church  were  unable 
to  translate  the  Latin  prayers.  Few  of  them  could  sign  their 
names.  The  most  ridiculous  blunders  were  continually  made, 
in  reading  the  Latin  service  of  the  church.  We  are  told  of 
one  who  had  gotten  the  word  "sumpsimus"  changed  into 
86* 


42(3  APPENDIX. 

"muinpsimus."  Upon  having  his  error  pointed  out  to  him,  he 
declared;  in  a  rage,  he  would  not  give  up  his  "mumpsimus" 
for  all  their  "sumpsimuses."  There  is  an  ancient  geo- 
graphical chart,  which  now  remains  as  a  monument  of  the 
state  of  Geography  in  the  middle  ages.  In  it  the  three 
parts  of  the  globe  then  known  are  so  represented,  that 
Jerusalem  is  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  globe ;  and  Alexan- 
dria appears  to  be  as  near  to  it  as  Nazareth.  Toward  the 
close  of  the  tenth  century,  scarcely  one  in  Rome  knew  the 
first  elements  of  letters.  In  England,  Alfred  declared  ho 
could  not  recollect  a  single  priest  south  of  the  Thames,  who 
understood  the  ordinary  prayers  or  could  translate  them  into 
his  native  tongue.  One  thing  that  seriously  affected  institu- 
tions of  learning  during  these  iron  ages,  was  the  scarcity  of 
books.  From  the  conquest  of  Egypt,  by  the  Saracens,  in 
the  seventh  century,  to  the  close  of  the  tenth  century,  the 
Egyptian  papyrus  almost  ceased  to  be  exported  from  Egypt. 
Parchments,  prepared  from  skins,  were  dear,  and  difficult  to 
be  obtained.  But  about  the  latter  period,  paper  began  to  be 
made  from  rags.  By  this  admirable  invention,  not  only  the 
number  of  manuscripts  increased,  but  the  study  of  the 
sciences  was  wonderfully  promoted.  "  The  invention  of  the 
art  of  making  paper  out  of  rags,"  says  Dr.  Robertson,  "and 
the  invention  of  the  art  of  printing,  are  two  considerable 
events  in  literary  history.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  former 
preceded  the  first  dawning  of  letters  and  improvement  in 
knowledge,  toward  the  close  of  the  eleventh  century ;  the 
latter  ushered  in  the  light  which  spread  over  Europe  at  the 
era  of  the  Reformation."  About  this  period,  there  prevailed 
throughout  the  schools  a  remarkable  division  of  the  sciences 
into  the  Tritium  and  Quadrivium  :  the  former  embracing 
Grammar,  Rhetoric  and  Logic;  the  latter,  Arithmetic,  Music, 
Geometry  and  Astronomy.  But  a  judgment  may  be  formed 
about  the  value  of  this  apparently  respectable  course,  when 
it  is  known  that  Music  was  confined  to  the  chaunts  of  the 
church;  and  Geometry  to  the  calculations  of  Easter;  besides, 
that  the  Trivium  formed  the  Pons  Asinorum  to  nine-tenths 
of  the  students  of  those  days.  But  while  the  night  of 
ignorance  brooded  over  Christendom  with  scarce  a  twinkling 
star  in  all  the  firmament,  the  Mohammedans  of  the  East  and 
of  the  West,  for  a  period  of  five  hundred  years,  cultivated 
literature  and  science  with  distinguished  success.  Their 
institutions    in    Spain,    in   Africa,    and    in   Asia,    attracted 


COLLEGES   AND   CLASSICAL   EDUCATION.  427 

thousands  of  students ;  and  the  literary  halls  of  Saragossa 
and  Bagdad  were  crowded  with  admiring  throngs,  hanging 
upon  the  lips  of  Saracen  lecturers.  From  the  ninth  to  the 
fourteenth  century,  the  Caliphs  were  patrons  of  science.  In 
all  parts,  in  every  town,  sa)s  Sismondi,  academies  and  col- 
leges were  established,  from  all  which  many  learned  men 
proceeded.  Bagdad  was  the  capital  of  letters  as  well  as  of 
the  Caliphs ;  but  Bassora  and  Cufa  almost  equaled  that  city 
in  reputation,  and  in  the  number  of  valuable  treatises  and 
celebrated  poems  which  they  produced.  Balk,  Ispahan,  and 
Samarcand  were  equally  the  homes  of  science.  The  same 
enthusiasm  had  been  carried  by  the  Arabians  beyond  the 
frontiers  of  Asia.  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  the  Jew,  in  his 
Itinerary,  relates  that  he  found  in  Alexandria  more  than 
twenty  schools  for  the  propagation  of  philosophy.  Cairo 
also  contained  a  great  number  of  colleges ',  and  that  of 
Betzuela,  in  the  suburbs  of  the  capital,  was  so  substantially 
built,  that  during  a  rebellion  it  served  as  a  citadel  for  the 
army.  In  the  towns  of  Fez  and  Morocco,  likewise,  the  most 
magnificent  buildings  were  appropriated  to  the  purposes  of 
instruction ;  and  these  establishments  were  governed  by  the 
wisest  and  most  beneficent  regulations.  But  Spain  was  more 
especially  the  seat  of  Arabian  learning.  It  was  there  that  it 
Bhone  with  superior  brightness,  and  made  its  most  rapid 
progress.  Cordova,  Granada,  Seville  and  all  the  cities  of 
the  Peninsula  rivaled  one  another  in  the  magnificence  of  their 
schools,  their  colleges,  their  academies  and  their  libraries. 

The  Academy  of  Granada  was  under  the  direction  of 
Schedmaddin  of  Murcia,  so  celebrated  among  the  Arabians. 
In  various  cities  of  Spain,  seventy  libraries  were  opened  for 
the  instruction  of  the  public,  at  a  period  when  all  the  rest 
of  Europe,  without  books,  without  learning,  and  without 
cultivation,  was  plunged  in  the  most  disgraceful  ignorance. 
The  number  of  Arabic  authors  which  Spain  produced  was 
so  prodigious,  that  many  Arabian  bibliographers  wrote  learned 
treatises  on  the  authors  born  in  particular  towns;  or  on  those 
among  the  Spaniards  who  devoted  themselves  to  a  single 
branch  of  study,  as  philosophy,  medicine,  mathematics,  and 
more  especially,  poetry.  These  Arabian  scholars  contributed 
to  kindle  the  sparks  of  science  through  Western  Europe,  and 
to  give  an  impulse  to  literature,  which  has  been  felt  long 
since  the  whole  Mohammedan  world  has  plunged  back  into 
sullen   and   barbarous  ignorance.     Many  persons   who   dis- 


428  APPENDIX. 

tinguished  themselves  by  their  proficiency  in  science  during 
the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  were  educated  among  the 
Arabians.  Almost  all  who  were  eminent  fur  science,  during 
several  centuries,  if  they  did  not  resort  in  person  to  the 
schools  of  Africa,  or  Spain,  were  instructed  in  the  philosophy 
of  the  Arabians.  The  first  knowledge  of  the  Aristotelian 
Philosophy,  in  the  middle  ages,  was  acquired  by  translations 
of  Aristotle's  works,  out  of  the  Arabic.  The  Arabian  com- 
mentaries were  esteemed  the  most  skillful  and  authentic 
guides  in  the  study  of  his  system.  From  them  the  school- 
men  derived  the  genius  and  principles  of  their  philosophy. 
The  germs  of  several  academics  and  universities  had  been,  in 
some  manner,  formed  before  the  twelfth  century.  That  of 
Paris  especially,  which  eventually  rose  to  the  greatest 
pre-eminence,  may  be  traced  even  to  the  tenth  century.  It 
had  acquired  such  fame,  even  then,  that  a  Monkish  writer 
of  that  age,  Peter  of  Blois,  says  :  "It  passed  into  a  proverb, 
that  those  who  were  desirous  to  have  any  question  settled, 
need  only  go  to  Paris,  where  the  greatest  difficulties  are  fairly 
resolved."  In  its  rise,  it  was  composed  of  artists,  who  taught 
the  sciences  and  philosophy,  and  of  divines,  who  made  com- 
mentaries on  Peter  Lombard's  Book  of  Sentences,  and 
explained  the  Scriptures.  At  first  the  University  was  com- 
posed only  of  scholars  and  masters.  Afterwards  they  dis- 
tinguished several  degrees,  and  fixed  the  time  they  ought  to 
study.  The  degrees  were  :  Bachelor,  Liccnciate,  and  M 
or  Doctor.  Those  were  Bachelors  who  taught  publicly. 
They  began  by  reading  and  explaining  the  Scriptures ;  and 
afterwards  composed  treatises  on  the  Master  of  Sentences, 
(Peter  Lombard.)  The  former  were  called  Biblici;  the 
latter,  Sententiarii.  They  bore  the  name  of  Bacillarii,  or 
Bacalarii,  from  bacilli;  either  because  they  were  admitted 
by  giving  them  little  wands,  or  because  they  so  called  the 
novices  of  the  militia,  who  exercised  with  sticks,  in  order  to 
barn  to  fight  with  arms.  The  University  of  Boloyna  also 
protends  to  claim  a  foundation  in  the  fifth  century  under 
Theodosius  II.,  ami  produces  a  sheepskin  parchment,  looking 
sufficiently  old  and  musty  !  duly  signed  and  sealed  by  that 
monarch. 

The  University  of  Cambridge'  also,  at  one  time,  seriously 
set  up  claims  to  an  origin  three  hundred  and  seventy  years 
before  the  Christian  era  !  and  produced  Anaxagoras  and 
Anaximander,  Grecian  philosophers,  amongst  the  list  of  its 


COLLEGES   AND   CLASSICAL  EDUCATION.  429 

professors  !  But  these,  ^and  many  other  ridiculous  pre- 
tensions, which  might  be  mentioned,  were  better  suited  to 
the  times  when  dynasties  of  Scottish  kings  could  be  traced 
back  to  the  family  of  Noah,  and  Welsh  pedigrees  were 
regularly  brought  down  from  Adam  !  The  establishment  of 
colleges  or  universities  is  a  remarkable  era  in  literary  history. 
The  schools  in  cathedrals  and  monasteries  confined  them- 
selves chiefly  to  the  teaching  of  Grammar.  There  were  only 
one  or  two  masters  employed  in  that  office.  But  in  colleges 
professors  were  employed  to  teach  all  the  different  parts  of 
science.  The  course  or  order  of  education  was  fixed ;  the 
time  that  ought  to  be  allotted  to  the  study  of  each  science 
was  ascertained.  A  regular  form  of  trying  the  proficiency 
of  students  was  prescribed ;  and  academical  titles  and  honors 
were  conferred  on  such  as  acquitted  themselves  with  approba- 
tion. These  new  establishments  for  education,  together  with 
the  extraordinary  honors  conferred  on  learned  men,  greatly 
increased  the  number  of  students.  In  the  year  12(32,  at 
Bologna  there  were  10,000,  and  it  appears  from  the  history 
of  that  University,  that  Law  was  the  only  science  taught  in 
it  at  the  time. 

About  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  there  were 
no  less  than  13,000  students  at  this  famous  seminary  of 
jurisprudence.  In  the  year  1840,  the  number  of  students  at 
Oxford  is  said  to  have  been  30,000.  In  the  same  century, 
10,000  persons  voted  on  a  question  in  the  University  of 
Paris ;  and  as  graduates  only  were  admitted  to  that  privilege, 
the  number  of  students  must  have  been  very  great.  At  the 
death  of  Charles  VII.,  in  1453,  the  number  is  stated  to  have 
been  25,000.  There  were,  indeed,  few  Universities  in  Europe 
at  that  time ;  but  such  a  number  of  students  may  neverthe- 
less be  produced  as  a  proof  of  the  extraordinary  ardor  with 
which  men  applied  themselves  to  the  study  of  science  in  those 
ages.  The  discovery  of  the  Pandects  of  Justinian,  at  Amalfi, 
in  1135,  when  the  city  was  taken  by  the  Pisans,  is  said  to 
have  led  to  the  revival  of  the  study  of  jurisprudence.  This 
story,  however,  has  been  questioned  of  late,  and  seems  to  rest 
on  insufficient  authority.  Seminaries,  however,  were  founded 
at  Bologna,  at  Modena,  and  at  Mantua,  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  studying  law.  New  Universities,  about  this  time, 
also,  arose  at  Naples  and  Padua,  and  other  places.  From  this 
time,  the  golden  age  of  universities  commenced  ',  and  it  is 
hard  to  say  whether  they  were  favored  most  by  their  sovereigns 


430  APPKNPTX. 

or  by  the  See  of  Rome.  "With  Aristotle  as  the  master  ii 
philosophy,  anl  Peter  Lombard  and  Thomas  Aquinas  as  tin 
masters  of  theology,  Rome  had  nothing  to  fear.  Colleges 
were  exempted  from  the  ordinary  tribunals,  and  even  from 
those  of  the  church.  Their  history,  indeed,  is  full  of  strug- 
gles with  the  municipal  authorities,  and  with  the  bishops  of 
their  several  cities;  in  which  they  were  sometimes  the  aggres- 
sors, and  generally  the  conquerors.  From  all  parts  of  Europe, 
students  resorted  to  these  renowned  seats  of  learning  with  an 
eagerness  for  instruction  which  may  astonish  those  who  reflect 
how  little  of  what  we  now  deem  useful  could  be  imparted. 
The  number,  in  some  instances,  may  be  exaggerated.  We 
learn  from  Anthony  Wood,  the  historian  of  Oxford,  that  "  a 
company  of  varlets,  who  pretended  to  be  scholars,  shuffled 
themselves  in,  and  did  act  much  villainy  in  the  University ; 
thieving,  quarreling,  &c.  They  lived  under  no  discipline ; 
neither  had  they  tutors;  but  only  for  fashion's  sake,  would 
sometimes  thrust  themselves  into  the  schools,  at  ordinary  lec- 
tures; and  when  they  went  to  perform  any  mischief,  then 
would  they  be  accounted  scholars,  that  so  they  might  free 
themselves  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  burghers."  If  we 
allow  three  varlets  for  one  student,  the  University  will  still 
have  been  very  fully  frequented  by  the  hitter.  We  may  here 
observe  that  the  exemption  of  the  students  from  military  ser- 
vice and  from  municipal  and  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  may 
serve  to  account,  in  part,  for  the  throngs  that  attended  the 
Universities.  By  the  way,  we  are  indebted  to  the  same  quaint 
historian,  but  honest  writer,  for  the  original  meaning  of  the 
word  "  College."  It  seems  that,  in  earlier  times,  the  students 
boarded  in  private  families,  or  in  hotels  or  inns  kept  by  ]  pri- 
vate, irresponsible  individuals.  The  exactions  of  the  persons 
who  boarded  them,  perhaps,  by  collusion  among  themselves, 
were  in  many  instances  severe  and  oppressive.  The  expenses 
of  the  students  awakened  so  much  dissatisfaction  with  the 
students,  their  parents  and  others,  that  at  length  measures 
were  taken  by  the  legal  authorities  of  these  great  Universities, 
or  Public  Schools,  to  furnish  the  students  suitable  houses, 
where  considerable  numbers  of  them  could  lie  accommodated 
with  rooms  and  boarding.  These  were  called  Collegia.  The 
literary  institutions  were  not  at  first  so  called.  They  were 
most  commonly  styled  schools,  halls,  and  universities.  But 
in  process  of  time  the  seminaries  themselves,  when  used  also 
for  lectures  and  recitations,  got  the  name  of  colleges.     When 


COLLEGES   AND   CLASSICAL   EDUCATION.  431 

we  learn  its  true  origin — that  originally  it  meant  rather  the 
hoarding -house — it  reminds  us  of  the  name  of  Pike,  now 
given  to  paved  roads,  so  called  first  from  turn-pike ;  and  that 
again  from  the  fact  that  paved  roads  have  generally  turn-pike, 
or  turn-pole  gates  placed  on  them,  at  intervals,  where  toll  is 
taken.  In  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  many  other 
universities  sprang  up  in  different  countries.  Among  these 
may  be  mentioned  those  of  Padua,  Naples,  Toulouse,  Mont- 
pelier,  Salamanca,  Orleans,  Prague,  and  Cambridge.  A  large 
proportion  of  scholars,  in  most  of  these  institutions,  were 
drawn  by  the  love  of  science  from  foreign  countries.  The 
chief  universities  had  each  their  own  particular  department 
of  excellence.  Paris  was  unrivaled  for  scholastic  theology ; 
Bologna,  Orleans,  and  Bourges,  for  jurisprudence ;  Montpe- 
lier  and  Salamanca  for  medicine.  Safe  passages,  even  in 
time  of  war,  were  granted  to  students,  and  secured  by  solemn 
international  treaties.  Though  this  was  the  period  of  the 
Inquisition,  that  institution  of  religious  persecution,  first  set 
up  at  Toulon  against  the  Albigenses  and  Waldenses,  yet  there 
sprang  up  almost  at  the  same  time,  an  university  in  the  same 
city.  Though  it  was  towards  the  close  of  that  period  rendered 
forever  memorable  by  the  Crusades,  those  fanatical  expeditions 
that  for  near  two  centuries  nearly  emptied  Europe  of  all  its 
fools,  and  a  large  part  of  all  its  knaves,  yet  even  this  period, 
when  superstition  was  in  the  ascendant,  it  is  due  to  Pope 
Urban  V.  to  bear  testimony  to  his  distinguished  liberality,  in 
supporting  and  encouraging  literature,  establishing  several 
universities,  and  from  his  own  resources  supporting  one  thou- 
sand poor  students  at  the  different  seminaries.  The  Univer- 
sity of  Cambridge,  in  England,  now  consisting  of  twelve 
Colleges  and  four  halls,  rose  also  at  this  period.  Its  first 
College  or  Hall,  St.  Peter's,  was  founded  in  1257.  This 
name  it  still  retains.  An  attempt  was,  indeed,  made  to  change 
it,  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Lady  Mary  Ramsey  offered 
it  an  additional  endowment  of  a  large  and  splendid  property, 
if  the  name  would  be  changed  to  Peter's  and  Mary's  College. 
But  Dr.  Soame,  at  that  time  Master  of  the  College,  replied, 
that  "  Peter  had  been  too  long  a  bachelor  to  think  of  a  female 
comrade  in  his  old  days."  "  A  dear  bought  jest,"  says  Ful- 
ler, "  for  the  lady,  piqued  at  the  remark,  threw  her  munifi- 
cence into  another  channel."  Clare  Hall,  and  Pembroke 
Hall  were  next  established,  and  others,  in  the  course  of  the 
fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries.     There  are  perhaps  now 


432  APPENDIX. 

twenty-Jive  hundred  students  in  this  distinguished  University. 
In  Scotland,  several  colleges  were  founded  from  the  fourteenth 
to  the  sixteenth  centuries.  The  University  of  St.  Andrew* 
was  founded  in  1411.  That  of  Glasgow,  in  1454.  That  of 
Aberdeen,  in  1477.  But  the  most  brilliant  luminary  of  old 
Caledonia  is  comparatively  of  recent  origin.  The  University 
of  Edinburgh  was  founded  in  1560.  Its  establishment  was 
violently  opposed  by  the  other  Universities — viz  :  of  Aber- 
deen, St.  Andrews,  and  especially  Glasgow,  no  doubt  through 
jealousy.  There  are  usually  upwards  of  two  thousand 
students  in  attendance.  The  Institution  has  no  less  than 
twenty-seven  chairs  or  professorships  :  four  of  laic;  eleven  of 
medicine,  and  nine  of  the  arts;  besides  three  of  the  Faculty 
of  iheoloyy.  The  mode  of  instruction  is  by  lectures.  No 
particular  course  of  academical  instruction  is  followed  ;  nor 
do  the  Professors  exercise  any  control  over  the  pursuits  of 
the  "students.  The  young  gentlemen  are  not  distinguished 
by  any  particular  costume.  Each  attends  what  lecture  he 
pleases,  and  lives  where  and  how  he  pleases. 

Those  who  would  make  themselves  acquainted  with  other 
institutions  in  Great  Britain  and  on  the  continent  of  Europe, 
may  consult  Mr.  Dwight,  and  other  recent  writers  In  this 
country,  the  most  ancient  literary  establishment  is  Harvard 
University,  founded  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  in  L638, 
less  than  twenty  years  after  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  at 
Plymouth.  Yale  College  was  founded  in  1700.  Princeton 
College  commenced  its  career  in  1738,  just  one  hundred  years 
after  Cambridge.  It  was  originally  called  Nassau  Hall,  but 
is  now  called  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  or  Princeton  College. 
Why  or  when  this  change  in  the  name  was  made,  we  have 
never  understood.  Colleges  have  since  sprung  up  and  multi- 
plied over  the  whole  land.  De  Bow,  in  his  census  tables  for 
ls.">0,  gives  the  whole  number  of  colleges  in  the  United  States 
as  amounting  to  two  hundred  and  thirty-nim  ;  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, twenty-two — number  of  students  in  these  3,520 ;  in  all 
the  colleges,  27,821.  It  would  be  aside  from  our  purpose  to 
give  an  historical  survey  of  any  of  these  numerous  institu- 
tions which  now  adorn  our  country.  The  policy  of  multiply- 
ing public  institutions  of  learning  to  such  a  degree  as  uow 
prevails,  has  been  much  questioned:  The  great  danger  appre- 
hended is  that  it  tends  to  lower  the  standard  of  education-* 
render  more  superficial  the  literary  and  scientific  course.  Yet 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  by  increasing  the  facilities  of  access 


COLLEGES   AND    CLASSICAL    EDUCATION.  433 

to  these  fountains  of  science,  a  greater  mass  of  mind  is  culti- 
vated, and  a  larger  number  of  those  who  are  qualified  to 
become  useful  and  eminent  in  public  life,  are  brought  within 
the  range  of  this  more  diffused,  if  less  solid  system.  There 
are  few  who  cannot  jjoint  to  instances  of  men  now  in  the  first 
ranks  of  the  various  professions,  who  would  never  have  arisen  to 
their  present  position,  had  they  not  availed  themselves  of  some 
humble  institution  where  tuition  and  boarding  were  so  cheap 
as  to  be  within  the  range  of  their  once  humble  means.  And 
perhaps  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  most  promising- 
description  of  our  youth,  will  ever  be  found  among  those 
whose  circumstances  compel  them  to  practice  the  most  con- 
stant industry  and  the  most  rigid  economy,  in  their  efforts  to 
enter  the  paths  of  science  and  literature.  Among  this  por- 
tion of  our  community  may  we  look  for  the  bone  and  sinew 
of  our  land.  From  these  have  arisen  most  of  the  eminent 
men  who  have  rendered  important  service  to  our  country. 
Jefferson  College,  in  her  earliest,  as  well  as  in  her  latest  days, 
has  ever  been  the  patron  and  friend  of  the  poor.  Some  of 
her  noblest  sons,  in  all  the  walks  of  life,  did  she  train  in  the 
days  of  their  poverty. 

The  sketch  we  have  thus  attempted  to  give  of  the  history 
of  the  rise  and  progress  of  public  seminaries,  we  have  not 
deemed  unsuitable  as  a  pendant  to  this  work.  We  have  gath- 
ered the  historical  facts,  given  above,  some  years  ago  for  a 
different  purpose.  But  though  we  may  be  charged  with 
pedantry  in  encumbering  our  humble  History  of  a  Western 
College  with  so  long  a  paper,  and  may,  perhaps,  bo  compared 
to  Knickerbocker,  going  back  to  the  creation,  in  his  history 
of  New  York ;  and  may  be  further  told  that  our  hack  porch 
is  too  large  for  our  house;  we  hope,  nevertheless,  that  some 
readers  may  find  some  entertainment  and  gratification  in  its 
perusal.  We  found  the  facts  we  have  given,  widely  scattered, 
in  Brucker's  "  History  of  Philosophy,"  Hallam's  "  Middle 
Ages,"  Sismondi's  "  History  of  Literature,"  Mosheim's 
"Ecclesiastical  History,"  Gibbon's  "  Decline  and  Fall  of 
the  Roman  Empire,"  "  The  Encyclopedia  Britannica,"  "The 
Quarterly  Reviews,"  &c. 


CATALOGUE  OF  BOOKS 

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first  prices.    These  are  Works  of  the  best  class  and  are 

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THE  DISCOURSES  AND  DIALOGUES  OF  THE 

REV.  SAMUEL  FORTER.  WITH  A  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 
BY  THE  REV.  DR.  ELLIOTT. 

These  Discourses  are  upon  very  important  subjects: 

The  first  is  "A  Discourse  on  the  Decrees  of  God,  the  Perseverance 
of  the  Saints,  and  Sinless  Perfection,  being  ibe  substance  of  two 
Sermons,  delivered  at  Congruity,  June  16,  1793." 

The  Second,  "A  Revival  of  True  Religion  delineated  on  Scriptu- 
ral and  Rational  Principles,  in  a  Sermon  delivered  at  the  opening 
of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  October  2  1805. 

The  Third,  "A  Discourse  relative  to  the  Atonement  of  Christ ; 
delivered  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburgh,  October  1, 
181 1,  at  the  opening  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh." 

The  Dialogues  between  Death  and  the  Believer  and  Death 
and  the  Hypocrite,  are  written  in  a  somewhat  peculiar  style,  and 
worthy  the  attention  of  every  professing  Christian,  This  Book 
contains  250  pages.  Bound  in  Cloth.     Price  50  cts. 

SACRED    EOUNTAINS;    OR    OBSERVATIONS, 

Historical  and  Practical,  on  the  Streams,  Lakes,  and  Fountains ,  of  the 
Holy  Land.     By  the  Rev.  David   Wilson,  of  Harpers'  Ferry,  Va. 

This  work  is  well  suited  for  the  young,  and  would  be  suitable  as 
a  present  to  a  Son,  Daughter,  or  Friend.  It  is  interesting  and  in- 
structive; contains  211  pages,  and  three  Engravings,  Cloth  binding; 
Price  60  cts. 

THE    PASTOR'S  MANUAL;  a  Selection  of  Tracts 

on  Pastoral  Duty;  containing  Baxter's  Reformed  Pastor;  Mason's 
Student  and  Pastor;  Qualifications  for  Teachers.  Rules  for  Preach- 
ers* Conduct;  Booth's  Pastoral  Cautions;  &c.  418  12mo.  pages,  b'd 
in  Cloth,  price  $1. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUCTOR;  CONTAINING 

a  summary  explanation  and  defence  of  the  Doctrines  and  Duties 
of  the  Christian  Religion,  by  Rev.  J.  Hopkins,  D.  D.  357  12mo.  ppa 
cloth  Binding;  price  $1. 

THE  READY  RECKONER,  IN  DOLLARS  AND 

Cents,  to  which  are  added  forms  of  notes,  Bills,  Receipts.  Petitions, 
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MESSIANIC  PROPHECY  AND  LIFE  OF  CHRIST: 

The  prophecies  concerning,  and  History  of  Christ  compared.  484 
12mo.  pages,  cloth  binding,  price  $1 


SLAVERY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  OR  THE 

LIFE  &  ADVENTURES  OF  CHARLES  HALL  A  BLACK  MAN, 
Who  lived  Forty  years  in  Maryland,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia, 
as  a  Slave,  under  various  Masters,  and  was  one  year  in  the  Navy 
with  Commodore  Barney,  during  the  late  War;  containing  an  ac- 
count of  the  Manners  and  Usages  of  the  Planters  and  Slave  hollers 
of  the  South, — a  description  of  the  condition  and  Treatment  of  the 
Slaves,  — with  observations  upon  the  state  of  morals  amongst  the 
the  Cotton  Planters,  and  the  perils  and  sufferings  of  a  Fugitive 
Slave,  who  twice  escaped  from  the  Cotton  Country.  Containing 
446  pages,  printed  with  new  and  handsome  type,  tound  in  Cloth 
for  75  cts,  in  paper  for  50  cts. 

This  Work  has  reached  the  Third  Edition.  It  has  bjen  pronoun- 
ced one  of  the  most  interesting  Narratives  in  the  English  Language. 
It  is  no  work  of  fiction,  but  as  reliable  as  any  historic  record  in 
the  country.  The  writer,  who  is  simply  a  recorder  of  the  facts  given 
him  by  Charles  Ball,  and  for  reasons  best  known  to  himself,  has  not 
given  his  name,  is  a  gentleman  of  acknowledged  Scholarship,  and 
eminent  in  the  profession  of  the  Law  in  Pennsylvania. 

The  Publisher  is  in  possession  of  many  letters  from  distinguished 
men,  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  who  have  spoken  in  high 
terrfts,  of  its  literary  merit.  One  of  them,  (whose  name  we  could 
give,)  regards  it  as  the  best  book  now  published,  touching  the  sub- 
ject of  Human  Slavery.  It  is  believed  that  it  will  have  an  uDiding 
interest   so  long  as  Narratives  of  any  description  are  read. 

THE  DOCTRINE  OFELECTIO N.— We  have  on  hand,  a  well 
written  Tract  of  22  pages  on  this  subject.  Ministers  and  others, 
who  wish  to  have  corrrct  sentiments  promulgated,  or  the  views  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  properly  understood,  would  do  well  to  have 
this  Tract  to  hand  to  those  who  might  be  much  benefited  with  its 
perusal — price  36  cts  per  doz.  copies. 

VITAL  QUESTIONS  FORPPOTESTANTS.— An  Octavo  Phamphlet 
of  Forty  pages,  very  suitable  for  distribution  among  those  who  are 
in  danger  of  being  corrupted  by  the  wiles  of  Priests  and  Bishops— 
being  a  multitude  of  questions  and  answers  touching  Catholocism. 
Price  $1.00  per  doz.  copies. 

LOWRIES  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.— Forty-Four  panes,  12  mo. 
Muslin  Back;  a  Discourse  on  the  Christian  Ministry.     Price  ]2.^cts. 

DR.  RICE'S  WORK,  GOD  SOVEREIGN,  and  MAN 

Free!  Or  the  Divine  Foreordination  and  Man's  Free  agency,  stated 
and  proved  from  the  Scriptures.    lOrf  pages  cloth  Binding,  pi  ice  $>!• 

PHRENOLOGY  EXAMINED,  AND  SHOWN  TO 

be  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  Physiology,  Mental  and  Mor- 
al Science  and  the  Doctrines  of  Christianity.  Also  an  examination 
of  the  claims  of  Mesmerism,  by  Rev.  N.  L.  Rice,  D.  D.  31ti  I2mo. 
pages.     Price  $1. 

HAND  BOOK    ON  THE  SLAVERY  QUESTION! 

Or  the  Testimony  and  Practice  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  re- 
ference to  American  Slavery.  &c.  By  John  RomxsoN.  P-56  12mo 
pages,  price  75  cents. 

THE  LIFE  AND  DISCOURSES  OF  SIR  JOSHUA 

REYNOLDS,  first  President  of  the  Royal  Academj.  First  Amer- 
ican Edition,  286  12mo.  pages,  price  75  cents. 

Address  J.  T.  SHRYOCK,    Pittsburgh. 


Date  Due 

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